This three day, two night camping experience deepens the participants’ experience of themselves as part of the natural community. Activities are focused on leadership development, connecting with nature, and learning about ways people can play a positive role caring for the natural world, at home, school, in the community, and on the job. Participants live as a community, sleeping in tents and sharing the tasks of daily living outdoors as they participate in fun and educational nature-based activities.  Natural resource professionals visit throughout the three days and lead students in hands-on activities.

Why Learn More About programs?

• Learn More About programs open a young person's eyes to what living sustainably in community means
• Programs help ensure that environmental leadership is diverse and inclusive
• Urban youth experience outdoor living through an immersion experience of the natural world

Learn More About components:

• Champions staff who live, work, and play alongside the youths
• A youth group of 5  to 15 youths accompanied by at least 1 staff from each participating youth organization
• A remote natural site at least one hour's drive from the starting city
• One or more natural resource professionals to serve as naturalist instructors
• and role models

Learn More About programs involve:

• Adventure and self-discovery
• Opportunities to assume responsibility and practice leadership
• A deeper connection with being part of the natural world
• Living as part of a community caring for the environment on a daily basis
• Helping with meal preparation and clean-up, sleeping in tents
• Drumming and time in reflection around a nightly fire
• Focused skills-based learning with natural resource and green industry professionals on topics ranging from solar design and solar power, wildlife photography, arboriculture basics, tree climbing, sustainable forests management
• Daily quiet periods, Journaling, and Night-time explorations
• Taking an active physical role caring for the land and natural resource

Learn More About results:

• Youth gain a vision of what they want for themselves in the future
• Youth change behaviors to lessen negative impact on environment
• Youth make life choices that allow them to continue to pursue their dreams and play a positive role caring for the natural world
• Youth form memorable relationships with staff and professionals that open up opportunities for professional and personal mentoring

The Sun Beating Down by Kendra Scaldione

The sun beating down
Sweet rays of bliss on my face
The rocks cold and strong
Letting you know support is never far
The scars and grooves on earth’s surface
Reminders of past mistakes not soon repeated
The leaves, symbols of a thousand memories
Never quite forgotten
The broken branches twisted and scattered
Showing the ruins and horrors of your past
The cool breeze of all your hopes and dreams,
So close that you can feel them but just out of grasp.
A woodpecker high in a tree knocking on the door to some future unknown
Newly formed trees among the rubble
Showing from struggle and suffering can come new life
The chirps of birds calling to me, giving hope to the hopeless
The sound of my feet on broken twigs and dying leaves
Taking their first steps toward a new life
Always remembering but never dwelling.
Just moving forward into the forest with a million more leaves
Lined with the happiness of new memories and what’s to come. These Learn More About programs are enhanced by adding our Stewardship and Career bridging programs to the youths’ experience.

If you would like to learn more about our Learn More About programs please contact us using the form below.
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