Photos and writing by Carly Rundle-Borchert
Early on the morning of June 19th twenty high schoolers, stemming from various backgrounds, met at the Wilderness Inquiry headquarters in Minneapolis to pack out for their five-day, four-night camping trip in Voyageurs National Park. The group of students had applied through their schools to be a National Park Teen Ambassador. For the past 7 years, the Voyageurs National Park Association has partnered with Wilderness Inquiry and the National Park Service to empower young people through the Teen Ambassador Program. Every year, this program introduces more than twenty Minnesota high school students to their national park, empowering them through hiking, paddling, and experiential learning.
Upon arrival, each student was paired up with a โbag buddyโ. Hesitantly, they removed all of their homey belongings from their familiar bags and shoved the contents of their contrasting cultures and upbringings into a shared waterproof sack. Keeping oneโs things segregated within the pack isnโt practical when the goal is to make everything fit.
Once the trailer was Tetris-packed full underneath five Voyageur canoes, our group began the journey towards our northern destination, the shore of Minnesotaโs Lake Kabetogama.
We arrived at the Ash River Visitor Center after a five-hour van ride. The ambassadors were not expecting a five-mile canoe paddle to their campsite, or more importantly to dinner. But happy to be out of the van, they worked together loading the canoes and, for many of them, paddling for the first time, though this wasnโt the only โfirstโ they would experience.
Within the first hour of our paddle, an eerily melodic call echoed across the lake and a hush fell over the boats. For many, it was their first time hearing a loon, and later that night it would be their first time seeing a lightning bug or smelling pine air that rich and fresh.
โIโve never slept outside before,โ said Jonaldy, anticipating his first night in a tent.
I asked the two boys sitting behind me in the canoe, why they chose to apply for this program. โI needed to find out if I was a city boy or a country boyโ, said Brenden, who had been yelping about bugs since we got out of the van.
โYouโre a city boy for sure,โ laughed Jonaldy.
When we floated into our campsite 90 minutes after our paddles touched the water, one of the girls shouted out a statement that would be quoted for the rest of the trip. โOh we in the woods woods!โ The following morning I asked Jonaldy how his first night sleeping outside went. He explained that he didnโt fall asleep until 1AM, because he heard โwolves howlingโ. Iโll be honest, I didnโt entirely believe him until later that d
The group of teens laughed, learned and grew more and more everyday. Only a small nudge was needed by the Wilderness Inquiry leaders when it came to socially melding the teens. Their creativity flourished in their free time, playing their own games, sharing their own stories. On the third day Wilderness Inquiry structured an activity where each teen would sit solo at their own isolated spot on the campsite for 20 minutes. They were to sit, observe, think, then either free-write or create a haiku poem. This is what emerged.
Teen Ambassador Poems:
โAs I breathe in the air
The simple ways of nature
Calm my anxious soul.โ
โNature is simple.
But, simple is hard to find
So savor your time.โ
โI will live my life
unafraid of my thoughts
with my head held highโ
โThe trees here see all,
They are everlasting
and hold years of truth.โ
โThis is their only home.
This is their refuge from us.
We are the foreigners.โ
-Diana
โWater are dancing
Surrounding by the big lands
The wind are pushing water.โ
-Paw Moo
Teen Ambassador Reflection:
Hearing the studentsโ bravely voice their deep and insightful thoughts on nature, and its connection to their own livesโin front of their peersโleft me blinking away tears. It was truly a beautiful thing to see. A shared vulnerability seemed to bring these kids together and draw them out. This was expressed by Sandy, a 17-year-old girl from St. Paul. โIโm usually a very shy person but here I talk more. I think Iโve got a littleโฆ well Iโve gotten out of my comfort zone a lot. I had to push myself a little bit.โ said Sandy.
Sandy described her favorite moment from the trip, โIt was breathtaking.โ I asked her to expand. โI was laying down on the rocks with a few people. We were silent, not talking. It was really calming and relaxing. The sun was going downโฆ I never really have quiet time unless Iโm by myself at home, but then I usually have music on or I can hear the noise of the neighborhood. Iโll have to get used to that again.โ
To Sandy, Lake Kabetogama was the oceanโthe biggest body of water sheโd ever seen, much less canoed across. Whether she meant to say โthe oceanโ or not, I donโt know, but I found it very sweet.
The last day was filled with many emotions. The teens held an excitement to go home, a sadness to say goodbye, and a dread for the long paddle followed by a longer van ride. But hiding in the midst of the rainy paddle and the sleepy van ride was a surprise. Back at the visitors center the Teen Ambassadors would be awarded their Junior Ranger badges and would make their pledge.
