“Fun” is rarely a descriptor people use for an academic conference. But when Associate Professor Mark Zmudy describes his fall trip to Northern Mexico, his enthusiasm is contagious.
“It’s probably one of the most fun professional experiences I’ve ever had,” he says.
At the late September conference, he gave a talk about the role of nature-based activity in health, wellness, and wellbeing and deepened a collaboration with the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACh).
The trip was sparked by a relationship with Fernando Mondaca Fernandez, who reached out to Zmudy after reading one of his papers on nature-based physical education. Mondaca Fernandez teaches at UACh in a program similar to UMD’s Physical Education Teacher Education program.
After they connected, Mondaca Fernandez visited Duluth to learn more about UMD’s approach. In the spring of 2025, the educators teamed up to offer a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course called Teaching Lifetime and Outdoor Activities to UMD and UACh students. It focused on outdoor education curriculum and fostering a sense of belonging for students through nature-based activities.
The success of this class led to Zmudy being invited to be the keynote speaker at a University Congress Conference focused on health and wellbeing in Chihuahua, where he received an award from university administrators for his efforts.
Leading up to the conference, he had an opportunity to spend time in nature with faculty and students. Mondaca Fernandez and Zmudy took nine students on an overnight camping trip in the Julimes high desert. They stayed at a nature center, hiked, swam in hot springs, and visited a museum focused on the region’s mammoth gravesite.
According to Zmudy, students were deeply affected by the experience of being in nature, expressing sentiments like, “I need this in my life,” and “When I come here, I feel better.”
This type of work parallels what Zmudy and colleagues from the American Indian Learning Resource Center have been doing to help create a sense of belonging for Native students with outdoor education at UMD.
Now he and Mondaca Fernandez aim to establish an ongoing international partnership. “This is just the beginning,” Zmudy says. “We agreed this trip is only an introduction to what we want to do.” Next steps may include a visit to Duluth this winter where Mondaca Fernandez can learn winter camping skills. There’s also talk of having him bring students to visit in the summer.
As this partnership continues to grow, Zmudy looks forward to building meaningful cross-cultural connections through shared nature-based experiences. He recognizes it’s a powerful tool for global connection. “This is some of the most rewarding work I’ve done since I’ve been at UMD,” he says.
Photos by Fanjie of Duluth, MN