Wilderness Inquiry envisions a day when every young person has the opportunity to access our public lands, waterways, forests, and wilderness areas; when we engage and invest in youth as future users, participants, and stewards of our natural resources.
For more than 15 years, Wilderness Inquiry has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service – Urban Connections program to make this vision a reality. Through a progression of outdoor education and recreation experiences – from backyard to backcountry – our shared work has engaged youth from urban areas within the Forest Service’s Eastern region to build confidence and connection in nature.
Together, our innovative partnership has worked to break down barriers to outdoor access and participation for youth who are historically and currently underrepresented in the outdoors, including youth with disabilities, youth who identify as BIPOC, and youth from low-income backgrounds.
Shared Impact
From 2021 to 2024, the partnership between Wilderness Inquiry and Urban Connections has directly connected 17,760 participants to immersive outdoor experiences across the Eastern region of the Forest Service, including:
- 16,458 through Canoemobile programming in Urban Connections communities including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Newark, and St. Louis, as well as Dayton, New York City, and Northwest Indiana.
- 1,302 through extended, multi-day trips to public lands and wilderness areas, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Mark Twain National Forest, and Superior National Forest.
Families absolutely LOVED it!! We made it part of our GET INTO NATURE series as part of social-emotional support for families. Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience, which is out of reach for many of our underserved families. It was also the FIRST time canoeing for many of the families. We will continue our efforts next school year!”
— Brenda, Chicago Public Schools
In 2023, Wilderness Inquiry was honored to receive the Forest Service’s Wilderness Partnership Champion award – a recognition of our significant partnership and the important work we are doing together to provide opportunities for youth to explore the outdoors on public lands and waterways nationally.
Today, Wilderness Inquiry’s partnership with the Forest Service continues to build deeper alignment alongside our commitment to environmental stewardship, community engagement, and immersive learning. Our shared vision to foster equitable outdoor connections is something we proudly come back to and only grows more important with each new community we reach.
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