He holds a BA (Geography) and an Honours (Outdoor Recreation) from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario and completed his PhD as a Commonwealth Scholar in the Faculty of Environment, Society and Design at Lincoln University in Canterbury, New Zealand. Pat is a 3M National Teaching Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He is a former editor of the Journal of Experiential Education, and current editor of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (alongside Dr. Emily Root). Pat is a member of the International Academic Committee for the International Outdoor Education Research Conference series, with the 7th gathering held at CBU in July 2016. Pat is also an Associate of the Transcultural European Outdoor Studies (TEOS) consortium.