Community Updates » May 2013 Featured Article
Healthy Hometown's Adventure Initiative Prepares for Summer
By Mike Smith, Director of Healthy Hometowns
Adventure Initiative programs use an experiential model of education. Whether in a classroom or in the field, participants are provided hands-on opportunities to learn and apply new skills. Each season courses and workshops are offered in communities around the state, while adventures take participants into the great outdoors of Maine and beyond.
This summer, in collaboration with Teens To Trails, Healthy Hometowns will select nine students from high schools around the state to take part in the Summer Teen Leadership Expedition. Taking place June 24th to 29th, this 5-day trip will take students into Maine's Debsconeag Wilderness where they will travel first by canoe and then by foot along the Appalachian Trail. The focus will be on traveling, camping and working together as a group to complete the journey. Along the way the group will learn and practice skills such as trip planning, navigation, backpacking, backcountry cooking, flatwater canoeing, minimal impact travel and more. No previous experience is necessary, just the desire to learn and share in the adventure. More information can, including an application, can be found online.
Also in June, the Adventure Intiative Program will once again host two-day courses in Wilderness First Aid and Swiftwater Rescue. These courses are open to the general public and serve as an excellent foundation for those leading outdoor programs in their communities. Healthy Hometowns, in collaboration with Teens to Trails, will be offering free tuition to one high school outing club advisor from around the state. The winner will be selected at random, and will have their choice of which class to attend. For more information on these courses and other opportunities through the Adventure Initiative visit http://mainewsc.org/healthy-hometowns/adventure-initiative.html.
