Canoe and conservation program for underserved youth

North Cascades Wild is an exciting 12-day canoe camping and backpacking program exploring Ross Lake in North Cascades National Park and surrounding wilderness areas. Underserved high school students will complete valuable conservation service projects for the National Park Service while learning leadership, community building and the natural and cultural history of the region. The program takes place during four trips on June 30-July 11, July 21-August 1 and August 10-21, 2008 (the last session consists of two concurrent sessions) and is free for those who qualify from high schools in Seattle, Lake Forest Park and Skagit County, Washington.

Thirty-six teenagers will be selected and the ideal candidate will be one who has not had many similar opportunities before, but is curious about the natural world, committed to the goals of the program and ready for an adventure. North Cascades Institute is proud to provide a unique opportunity for students to gain confidence in the outdoors, experience stewardship and community in the backcountry and learn more about themselves and others while working alongside National Park Service professionals.

North Cascades Wild is sponsored by North Cascades Institute, Student Conservation Association (SCA) and North Cascades National Park (NCNP). The program is supported through Institute, SCA and NCNP fundraising and the generous support of individual donors and partners.

Curriculum
North Cascades Wild is designed as a gateway for underserved students to jumpstart their lifelong engagement with nature, stewardship and community. The program aims to connect underserved youth to wild places, thus fostering the development of a stewardship ethic, building awareness and support for wilderness and public lands, and inspiring students to pursue higher education.

The curriculum achieves these goals through service project work and instruction in outdoor skills, Leave No Trace and natural and cultural history. In addition, students learn about leadership, team building, wilderness and public lands management and careers in natural resources management while reflecting on their experience through discussion and journaling activities.

Additional Program Components
The program aims to not only engage participants, but also to involve their parents and families in stewardship and the outdoors. It includes pre-trip student-parent orientation meetings, one-day reunion boat tours on Ross Lake for participants and their families and a reunion celebration at Seattle’s Camp Long in the fall. Students earn community service hours – required for high school graduation – upon completion of post-trip requirements. Participants are also engaged after the trips through numerous opportunities offered by the Institute, SCA and the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation to continue their newfound passion for wilderness, conservation and stewardship.

Requirements
The program is free to those who qualify and who live in selected areas. For 2008, recruiting efforts are focusing on high schools in the Seattle area and Skagit County. No experience is necessary, but participants must be in good physical condition. The program involves daily canoeing and hiking over rugged terrain, often carrying a backpack containing food, water, extra clothing and camping gear. All group canoeing, backpacking and camping equipment is provided; limited personal gear is available too.

How to Apply
If you are a high school student in Seattle, please contact the Student Conservation Association at (206) 324-4649 for an application or email jkooyman@thesca.org. If you are a high school student at Shorecrest High School in Lake Forest Park or live in Skagit County, please call Amy Brown at North Cascades Institute at (360) 856-5700 ext. 274 or email abrown@ncascades.org.

Applications must include a completed application form, parent/guardian signatures and a recommendation from a teacher, coach, employer or clergy member. Applicants must also complete an interview and a physical before being accepted into the program.

Application Deadline
Most Skagit County high school applications are due March 10, 2008. Lake Forest Park and Concrete High School applications are due March 17, 2008. Applicants selected for the program from these areas will be notified by early April. Seattle high school student applications are due April 21, 2008 and chosen applicants will be notified by mid-May. All applicants will be contacted for interviews shortly after the initial application deadline.

For more information or to help sponsor a North Cascades Wild trip, contact Amy Brown, North Cascades Wild Program Coordinator, at abrown@ncascades.org or (360) 856-5700 ext. 274.