Outdoor Schools
My son received a college credit in the sciences for participating in a NOLS course that took him to Kenya. He had a great experience and it was not your typical "travel agency tour". My son bushwacked through jungles following trails made by elephants, lived with Masi (sp???) in their huts, and spent days on fishing sailcraft with native people who were Muslim. I cannot vouch for his "equipment list", but in spite of his his mother's frustration, he packed the day before he left, buying socks on the way to the airport. Believe me he did not have any high-tech gear. My son loves being outdoors, the classroom his least favorite place to be. (He is presently a ski coach in the Sierras.) In an Outward Bound course in Colorado (Sangre de Cristo Mts.), his group lost their food to bears, spent no time on established trails, made serious mileage in rugged terrain.
My nephew on a NOLS trip to Patagonia, although wearing plastic boots, broke his foot when a boulder rolled on it. Sometimes he had to crawl, other times his buddies carried him, but in a couple of days he made it to a small village and a road. Before his accident, he spent days in a kayak, dried his wet clothes in his sleeping bag at night. These are rugged programs, and the kids learn to get along in the out-of-doors. (BTW, A year later he was co-captain of his college soccer team)
My daughter graduated from UVM, works with troubled teens, and is presently enrolled in a Outward Bound Leadership program in North Carolina for six weeks. Quoting from the OB "Clothing and Gear" page:
"Even the most experienced OB insturctors have different ideas on what will best suit their needs while living in the wilderness. You will likely develop your own preferences by the end of your course. Below is a list, developed from many years of experience, of what we recommend you bring."
The list did not look any different from a list publihed by AMC for winter use.
My daughter has plenty of wilderness living experience including backpacking with a Dad who has to hike with lightweight gear! She knows about Pepsi Can stoves, won't use a pack without a hip-belt, but taught me to use a tarp rather than a tent. No, one does not need to go to exotic places or far from home to learn outdoors skills, but NOLS and Outward Bound are challenging and well worth it.
When a teacher, I participated in an Outward Bound course canoeing in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and Canada, a program specifically designed for teachers. In the just first hour of being there, I knew I was not just on a vacation for tourists in boats.
In short, send your daughter.
As for gear, if your daufghter has used her gear before in the outdoors, I am sure it will be acceptable. Footwear is key, however. Go with what fits and what is broken in. For example, my son in Colorado wore Montrial Morraines which are very heavy, thick leather, which were great in the jagged shale and rough rock. My daughter, on the otherhand was told not to show up in anything but leather in a semester she spent in the CO Rockies. The program leaders (not OB or NOLS) were not pleased when she showed up in boots with nylon, but she has very hard feet to fit, and those boots were what fit, so she wore them without incident and blister free.
Programs have those equipment threats you mention to save themselves from participants who show up with blue jeans, cotton shirts, and hair dryers. From personal experience, I know OB has good equipment to rent.
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