As most of you know Wilderness Adventures was founded, by Paralee Dawson Hayward,  in the hopes of reaching as many children in the Tri-State area and preparing them for all levels of outdoor activities in the great outdoors. Paralee in association with The Learning Center had the pleasure of working with a group of 11 to 13 year olds for the first semester of this school year. Paralee has ten years of experience long-distance backpacking and has written two books that share valuable resources to assist in the preparation stages of a backpacking trip and some humerous stories of her adventures along the Appalachian Trail. Check it out at www.outdoorhikerbooks.com.

All classes where held in the Outdoor Center at the school and consisted of multiple levels of training from Leave No Trace, orienteering, survival skills which included use of only the natural materials found in the woods, safety and first aide, becoming comfortable with their environment in the woods and leading up to an overnight campout.

They were challenged at all levels during the campout since the weather did not cooperate. It was calling for a 60% chance of rain so I offered a rain date but the children would not hear of it so we continued on with the planning. We did not get rain but the temperatures dropped to the low 20′s that night. One of the girls in the group, that participated in the campout, was afraid of getting dirty in the beginning days of the class, but advanced to loving the challenges of camping.

When asked what their favorite parts of the class were they offered the following;

campout
learning how to make survival bracelets
orienteering and learning how to use a compass
becoming one with nature and eliminating the fears of being in the woods

If you have children or know someone that does and would like to have them experience the great outdoor, contact us at [email protected] or visit us at www.wilderness-adventures-children.com