Canoemobile Completes 2023 Season - Connecting 30,000 People to the Outdoors

Wilderness Inquiry’s fall Canoemobile tour recently returned from the road after visiting 35+ communities in 13 states and directly engaging more than 15,000 youth and families in inclusive outdoor education and recreation experiences. This tour is part of the overall positive impact that Canoemobile has had across communities in 2023, which is highlighted below.

Why does this work matter?

Outdoor engagement is demonstrated to lead to positive learning and health outcomes. But access to the outdoors is not equitable for all. That’s why the work of Canoemobile is so important.

Canoemobile meets youth and families in the communities where they live — in their neighborhoods, schools, and local parks — and provides opportunities to explore nature close to home. This happens on the Mystic River in Boston, at Anacostia Park in our nation’s capital, at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Atlanta, and on waterways coast-to-coast.

By creating shared spaces for outdoor engagement, teaching outdoor skills, and working directly with local partners and families, Canoemobile provides a foundation for youth and the adults in their lives to safely and positively experience the outdoors. And that’s step one.

Learn more about Canoemobile and how the program supports pathways to deeper outdoor engagement. And check out the links below to read and hear stories about our most recent tour.

Thank You!

The 2023 fall Canoemobile tour would not be possible without the incredible support and teamwork of partners and funders across the country, including the following key organizations:

Bureau of Land Management
Dunes Learning Center
Minneapolis Public Schools
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
National Park Service
National Park Trust
Nature Valley
Outdoor Foundation
REI
St. Paul Public Schools
Thomson Reuters
Travelers
Urban Waters Federal Partnership
USDA Forest Service – #FSUrbanConnections
Winnebago Industries Foundation

For Canoemobile in Minnesota:

STEM-based learning is funded in part by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR)
History and culture-based learning is funded in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment