Adventurers and nature enthusiasts sometimes avoid college. Let\’s face it – the hallowed halls of higher education don\’t exactly seem conducive to a life lived outdoors. However, gone are the days of stuffy, run-of-the mill classes and boring majors. Especially with the invention of online degrees. College shouldn\’t compromise your relationship with nature, and it no longer has to. In fact, it can enhance it. Those who combine their affinity for the natural world with their academic studies can explore a number of hands-on opportunities that would turn many of us green with envy. Here are a few of our top picks.

• Students at the Lightning Research Lab at the University of Florida spend their summer “catching” lightning and studying it in order to create lightning-resistant structures.
• Those who enjoy water and weaving have the opportunity to bring together their interests in the Underwater Basket Weaving class at Reed, which has been in existence since 1980.
• Agile students who are not afraid of heights can take Tree Climbing at Cornell, where you\’ll learn not only to climb trees but to move from tree to tree.
• Tree lovers can also indulge their passion in the Peruvian Amazon Field Course at New College Florida, during which they\’ll climb up rainforest trees in order to study the life there.
• Students studying at the Barton Lab at Northern Kentucky University have the opportunity to take a field trip to a Venezuelan cave that might provide clues to life on Mars.
• Fans of jellyfish should consider studying at the Dawson Lab at University of CA Merced. They\’ll take trips to snorkel and dive with jellyfish in order to better understand the oceans.
• If you\’re interested in weather, check out the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech. You\’ll be on the scene taking measurements in hurricanes and tornadoes. If no wind is forthcoming, you\’ll hurl planks at brick walls in order to imitate same.