Establishing an outdoor-based mentoring program
Abstract
Trekkers, Inc. is an outdoor-based mentoring program for youth in St. George, Thomaston and Cushing, Maine. By taking the traditional mentoring idea outdoors, Trekkers is able to connect caring adults with youth through travel, community service, and adventure-based education. The outdoor setting provides a neutral place for the mentor and mentee to have a shared experience and build an appreciation of the earth as "educator." This effective practice was shared by Nancy Anderson with Maine Interfaith Mentoring, at the AmeriCorps*VISTA Faith-Based and Community Organization Conference at the University of Indianapolis, August 20-22, 2001.Issue
In most traditional mentoring programs, the youth and mentors meet in locations that are comfortable to one or the other -- a school, neighborhood meeting place or home. An outdoor-based mentoring program provides a neutral place where both the mentor and mentee are vulnerable, have to depend on each other, and can more easily learn from each other. The relationship is built on trust, and the unexpected changes in weather and nature always provide exciting challenges that the mentor and mentee can overcome together.Action
Trekkers organizes more than seven expeditions during the year for youth in seventh to 11th grades. Each expedition has its own area of focus and often incorporates education, community service, and cross-cultural experiences. Community adult volunteers attend the expeditions as mentors. Most mentors attend one or two trips during the year. Students receive the following benefits from participation:- Work with adult mentors before, during and after the expeditions in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the trips
- Participate with adults in a myriad of trust-building and team-building initiatives
- Are assisted by adults who help them with their academics in order to be eligible to go on the expeditions
- Have an ongoing relationship with the adults from the expeditions through the rest of their high school years
- Take part in pre-trip programs to plan and implement different expeditions using a consensus model for decision making
- Work as a learning community on problem solving and team-building initiatives throughout the pre-trip programs
- Generate group discussions and activities surrounding specific educational experiences during the expeditions
- Facilitate group educational processes to synthesize individual interpretation of each educational experience throughout the expeditions
- Select and study a specific cultural perspective related to the area of travel
- Spend a portion of the expedition on the land or in the communities of people from other races, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds
- Identify and research a specific environmental issue related to the region, and meet with local residents who are directly involved
- Study natural history and ecological concepts within the selected bio-regions of travel
Examples of Trekker expeditions:
Trekkers College/Career Exploratory Expedition (11th grade)
A ten-day expedition for 11th grade students who are interested in exploring higher education or particular career choice after high school.
- Goal: Offer students the opportunity to visit some art and technical schools and/or colleges, or visit directly with people who are working in a particular career field, within a certain designated region of the United States.
In the weeks leading up to the expedition, students participate in a three-week leadership/technology course, learning how to create an educational portfolio on CD ROM. Students document their educational and personal achievements throughout high school and create a personal biography utilizing various multi-media disciplines. They then send the CD with their college applications and/or potential employee applications.
Trekkers Backpacking Trip Along the "100 Mile Wilderness" on the Appalachian Trail (10th grade)
Students travel along the Appalachian Trail for approximately two weeks in the summertime.
- Goal 1: Study native culture in Maine.
- Goal 2: Sponsor a charity of the student's choice.
Each student asks people to sponsor them for each mile they hike as a way to raise awareness and money for the different causes they believe in.
Trekkers November Expedition (10th grade)
A nine-day expedition for sophomores focusing on exploring the cultural landscapes of the past as a way to build a bridge to the future.
- Goal: Reach out and listen to the stories of the elders to gain a healthy respect for their journeys, begin to understand their history, and absorb some of their wisdom.
In the weeks leading up to the trip, students meet with adult volunteers to plan and implement the expedition, as well as various fundraising strategies. A trip eligibility requirement for each student is to interview a community elder.
Trekkers Pacific Northwest Expedition (9th grade)
A ten-day expedition to the Pacific Northwest, the educational focus of this journey is four-fold: native and coastal cultures, volcanoes and tectonic activity, logging and forestry issues, and Lewis and Clark's discovery of the Northwest Passage.
- Goal 1: Visit native and local people who are living and working on the Pacific Coast as a way to compare and contrast their way of life to the culture and lifestyle in Maine.
- Goal 2: Discover the volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains at Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens.
- Goal 3: Visit "old growth" forests and meet with people on different sides of the issues concerning their future.
- Goal 4: Retrace the last leg of Lewis and Clark's expedition to the Pacific Ocean and learn how it affected native people.
In the weeks leading up to the trip, students participate in a four-week leadership/life skills course, which concludes with each student going on a professional interview.
Advanced Trekkers Two-week Summer Expedition (8th grade)
Eighth graders meet twice a month with Trekker adult volunteers to plan and implement a two-week expedition somewhere in the United States. During the meetings, students are involved in team-building exercises, problem-solving initiatives, and consensus decision making.
- Goal: Introduce students to the diversity of cultures, people, traditions and natural resources that exist outside the focus of their everyday lives.
Students design the trip around the following components: a community service project, the experience of another culture, the investigation of an environmental issue, a unique recreational opportunity and a wilderness adventure.
Trekkers Trip to Acadia National Park (7th grade)
Thirty students and 15-20 adults go to Acadia National Park in May.
- Goal: Provide a shared wilderness experience for students and community adults to build the foundation for an on-going relationship to occur through the rest of their high school years.
Students and adults take part in a pre-trip, three-week orientation program where they are involved in team-building initiatives, small group discussions, and an extensive canoe orientation. In teams of ten students with four to six adults and a facilitator, each team goes hiking, rock climbing, repelling, and canoeing, and shares their experience in small group discussions throughout the weekend.
Other Trekkers Services
- One-on-one/team mentoring
- Trekkers weekly "bull" sessions
- Hurricane Island Service Project
- Consultations with other states, communities, organizations, and school districts
- Collaborations with other youth-serving organizations in and out of state
Context
In 1994, Trekkers began as a volunteer community initiative for students attending School Administrative District #50's Thomaston Grammar School. In 1996, students from St. George School were included. During the first five years, Trekkers primarily worked with 7th and 8th grade students. With expansion of a year-round program implemented in 1999, Trekkers now offers program to local students up to the 11th grade. 120 students, seventh through 11th grades, were served by Trekkers this past program year.
Trekkers began as a signature program of Youth Forum Maine, which seeks to foster collaboration and offer resources to the many organizations within the state which address the needs of our young people.
Outcome
Projected outcomes for all programs are three-fold:- To provide youth with ongoing support and guidance from caring adults from the community
- To improve self-esteem and develop active listening, communication, conflict resolution, and decision making skills while teaching students to be self directed with their own educational process
- To raise awareness and knowledge of the diversity of cultures, traditions, and natural resources that exist outside the focus of students' lives
Mentors often meet with the youth through the year outside of actual "Trekkers" time. A bond is formed during the expeditions between youth and the community mentors that lasts for years.
The local school district has supported the Trekkers program by allowing mentors to meet with youth during the school day to eat lunch or hang out and allows Trekkers the use of the schools for meetings.
Posted On
August 15, 2001For More Information