Teens to Trails

2023 DOWNHILL 24 OUTDOOR FUND GRANTEE

The money we received from WinterKids supported our Fall programs to connect Maine’s middle and high school students with the outdoors. We work with 62 middle and high schools across Maine in every county except Knox.

Receiving the money at the start of the school year allowed us to invest it right away. We subsidized the registration costs for our Outdoor Club Leadership Conference, which allowed 50 teachers to attend for half the cost, as well as paying stipends for the presenters of our DEI Outdoors panel ($2200 D24 support). These teachers lead outdoor clubs, each of which hosts an average of 30 kids, so this investment impacted 1500 students.

We used some of the funds ($450 D24 support) to support a scouting trip that our two outdoor program staff made to Acadia/MDI, in preparation for an October camping weekend. The campout was fully subscribed with 70 students, but unfortunately, it was on October 6-8, 2023, and the remnants of Hurricane Philipe drenched Acadia National Park with 3.7” of rain, so this program was canceled. The research will help us in future years!

The remaining funds supported program staff in planning and executing our first-ever camping weekend for middle school students, held at Camden Hills State Park. Three schools attended, totaling 22 students + 8 adults.