Written by Shaine Scarminach, a UConn History doctoral candidate, who is currently serving as a Graduate Intern in Archives & Special Collections.

When summer rolls around, the idea of a road trip entices many Americans into their cars and out onto the open road. The University of Connecticut was no exception to road trip fever.

In the summer of 1951, Dr. A. Raymond Kienholz of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife , who had previously served as Connecticut State Forester, organized a conservation road trip. Its purpose was to survey the nation’s natural features and instruct tour members in conservation science. Several years before the creation of the interstate highway system, 32 people ranging in age from 19 to 62 and coming from all over the United States hopped on to a university bus and set out to see the country. In just two months, they traveled 12,000 miles through 26 states, studying the environment by day and camping out at night.

Tour members (pictured here) learn some camping basics on the Storrs campus before the tour. More photographs of the conservation workshop from Archives and Special Collections can be found in our digital repository.