Pilot 2-day Intro Program

I am thrilled to announce that we had a successful launch of our two-day introduction to backpacking program last weekend. We partnered with Kingsley High School to host 14 of their students for two days along 3.6 miles of the North Country Trail. Our mission for this program was to introduce teens with little or no exposure to the backcountry and inspire them to attend future programs.

The weekend was massively successful. All of the students remained engaged throughout the program and took great initiative in accomplishing tasks necessary to facilitate their trip. Though it was impossible to fit all of our curricula in such a short period, we introduced and practiced many skills. Among those were packing backpacks, building camp, purifying water, Leave No Trace, backcountry cooking, orienteering, and flora identification, including several wild edibles. While we await detailed input from the post-trip survey, I was excited to hear that the students loved the program and hope to attend more in the future. Many of them shared their experience with classmates in school who expressed interest in attending programs.

It was a pleasure spending the weekend in the wilderness with everyone, and it could not have happened without an abundance of support. Nearly a dozen volunteers helped plan logistics, pack food, arrange transportation for students and equipment, and lead the trip. We also could not have hosted this program without the support of several sponsors. Kate's Real Food donated four dozen bars to our program, which instantly became a group favorite amongst the food we offered. Osprey Packs donated 12 brand new backpacks to Origin Expeditions that not only supported this trip but many more in the years ahead. Lastly and certainly not least, I want to acknowledge Founders Brewing Company, the Sand Hill Angels, and the families who made financial contributions to our organization to support this mission.

As winter quickly approaches, we will be working on fundraising and preparations for programs in 2021. We'll be adding one new program and publishing the research from the data we collected during our trip soon. We at Origin Expeditions are thrilled for the opportunity to impact lives in this way and continue to express our gratitude for all of the support we receive in facilitating this mission!

Thanks everyone,

Joe