The National Park Service has announced that the Teens To Trails organization was selected to receive assistance from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program to develop their innovative College Outdoor Mentors initiative.

Teens To Trails (T3) was selected from the most competitive field of requests ever received by the agency and was one of only nine projects accepted in Maine this fiscal year.

Teens To Trails has been promoting high school Outing Club programs since 2006 to ensure that outdoor experiences are available to all Maine teens. With this National Park Service assistance, T3 is pursuing a new initiative to further support teen Outing Clubs by providing inspirational college-aged mentors for younger students, pairing college campuses with their local high school outing clubs.

“We will draw these college students from the many popular outing club programs on our Maine campuses, as well as students pursuing outdoor-related careers,” Teen To Trails Founder Carol Leone said.

“This College Outdoor Mentors initiative will not only serve to engage more Maine teens in the outdoors, but will draw much-deserved national attention to the impressive Outdoor Recreation & Tourism programs being offered right here in Maine,” Leone said.

If you are interested in getting involved, either as a college mentor or as a high school Outing Club demonstration project, get in touch with Leone or Jane Koopman, T3's Outreach Coordinator.

This project was selected by the National Park Service because of its capacity to further the goals of the America's Great Outdoors initiative and support community efforts to increase access to outdoor recreation using innovative partnerships. The National Park Service is proud to support capable partners and eager to help contribute to the T3 College Outdoor Mentors initiative.