Teens to Trails

At the start of the 2024-25 school year, many Maine communities are working to create phone-free learning environments. This allows students to focus, connect with their peers, and relieve the pressures they feel when scrolling social media.    At Teens to Trails, we know that time outside invites teenagers to put away their phones and simply be themselves. Our programs at middle and high schools all over Maine are designed to create happy, confident teenagers who appreciate the natural world. To help make our outdoor programming more accessible to schools, a generous Teens to Trails supporter has challenged our community to match her $3,000 donation! Will you help Maine teenagers access the outdoors? Your support will provide dynamic experiences that can only be provided by nature! Donate today! https://lnkd.in/eG_6jvAA #makeamatch #maineoutdoors #outdoorlearning #unplugged #lifehappensoutside

Got extra outdoor gear? Let us pass it on to Maine kids to further their adventures. "I'm donating an Osprey Packs, Inc. Ariel 65 backpack and Marmot sleeping bag. I used the gear to do two section hikes of the AT, Maryland and New Hampshire. I am glad to find an organization like Teens to Trails. I am excited that my gear can help young people grow a love for the joys of the outdoors, especially those who might not otherwise have opportunities to enjoy the outdoors due to the cost of gear." https://lnkd.in/ej63DAWn #lifehappensoutside #geardonation #outdoors #phonefree

77% of the schools that Teens to Trails works with have $0 in their budgets to get their kids outdoors for unstructured outdoor activities, but school groups get a break at Maine State Parks.

Teens to Trails spring Life Happens Outside Challenge is included in this AP article as an antidote to the “apathy pandemic” exacerbated by social media and the lingering isolation from pandemic lockdown. We add activities that are more engaging than phones to the lives of Maine students - like outdoor clubs, trips and challenges. Thank you Tim Pearson, teacher at Dedham School and winner of the Life Happens Outside Challenge for speaking with the reporter, “Whether they had phones with them or not, they’re building fires, they’re putting up their tents,” Pearson said. “They’re doing things outside.” Unum and Kelly T. We appreciate your sponsorship of the Challenge! #lifehappensoutside

Thank you Maine Department of Education for sharing a story about our annual spring camping & rafting weekend for Maine high school students. We are always bound for an adventure at Adventure Bound Maine! It was especially rewarding to rebuild meaningful social connections - outdoors - as part of Maine’s Whole Student Pandemic Response and offer this trip for FREE with funding from the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative. “One of my students wants to become a rafting guide now,” added Brian Davis, a Science Teacher at Westbrook High School. #lifehappensoutside

YAC = Youth Advisory Council. This group of students is guiding us at Teens to Trails. They offer wisdom on what motivates and deters teens from engaging with the outdoors. Their outdoor hopes and dreams also motivate us to help them build professional networks, hard skills, gear inventories, college options and opportunities for outdoor adventure. Welcome: Chris Reed of Winthrop High School; Eva Dodge of Ecology Learning Center; Nolan Packard of Belfast Regional High School, Jayden Thatcher of Mt Abram High School; Nora Condit of Edward Little High School; Margaret Brewster of Sacopee Valley High School! Thanks also goes to YAC co-leader Andrew DeStaebler and Camp Susan Curtis for hosting us!

We're excited to be a part of the Maine Department of Education Annual Summit happening August 6-8 at the Augusta Civic Center. Teens to Trails Program Manager Samantha Andrews, ED Alicia Heyburn, MS, and teachers from Bucksport Middle School and Dedham School, will discuss how spending time outside positively impacts the entire student population. The session is titled, "When I spend time outside, I feel good inside!" Register today! https://lnkd.in/eKa65HnQ #maineeducators #outdoorlearning #lifehappensoutside

This summer, thanks to the generous support from the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative (Maine Department of Education), six high school groups are exploring sections of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail with teachers and professional guides. Program Manager Samantha Andrews recently returned from an unforgettable, nine-day excursion on the Allagash River with students from Forest Hills Consolidated School (Jackman) and Ashland District School. For many students, this was their first experience paddling long distances, camping and spending extensive hours outside. While settling into group dynamics can take time, by the end of their trip together, the students formed bonds, learned so much about challenging themselves, and were exposed to a beautiful and wild part of Maine that so many travel long distances to experience! Stay tuned for in-depth stories and interviews coming to our blog. We can't wait to share more photos and stories from these river adventures. Pictured: 1) Students from Jackman and Ashland with their leaders and guides arrive at camp after a long day on the water. 2. Teens to Trails Program Manager poses with Allagash Wilderness Waterway Superintendent Mark Deroche. #lifehappensoutside #northernforestcanoetrails #maine #mainehighschools #teenstotrails

How do you feel about prohibiting phones in schools? It’s part of a remedy to reduce anxiety and rebuild social connection. Teens to Trails helps Maine’s middle & high schools offer programs where students can create real relationships, take risks, and explore the webs and networks of nature. We get kids offline and into the outdoors. #lifehappensoutside