Teens to Trails kicked off its Winter Outdoors Series at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson on January 11, with a Day of Outdoor Play. Students and teachers from six schools enjoyed activities ranging from fat tire biking to shelter building, pizza making to ice skating. The schools are all part of Teens to Trails, an organization helping Maine’s middle and high schools offer Outdoor Clubs as a way for students to enjoy the benefits of spending time together outside.

"The goal of our Day of Play was to provide students with the opportunity for free play and exploration in the outdoors,” said Samantha Andrews, Teens to Trails’ Outdoor Program Manager. “Students rarely get the chance to just be kids and play, away from screens, structured schedules, and academic pressures. We gave them a chance to connect with nature, build new skills, and experience the joy of unstructured outdoor fun.”

An exchange student from India attending Wiscasset Middle High School shared her excitement with a student from Oceanside High School, "It is so great to see my first snow," she said, her face lighting up. "In India, we don't get snow, so this is an experience I will remember forever, and I made a new friend!"

A goal of all Teens to Trails programs is to build meaningful connections between students, their teachers and the natural world. As U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says in his Parting Prescription for America, “Community gives us strength and resilience when facing the big challenges and countless paper cuts that come with moving through the world.”

“Social connection is a core part of being in an Outdoor Club,” says Teens to Trails Executive Director, Alicia Heyburn, “Unlike a team, students don’t need to try out for a Club, they just need to show up and be ready to try something new."

Attendees explored the miles of well marked trails during a nature walk led by Hidden Valley Nature Center volunteer Chuck Dinsmore, including a visit to a bog where pitcher plants poked up through the new fallen snow. After the walk, a campfire by the post and beam Bezon Barn provided a cozy spot to warm up, socialize and try some chicken stew, cooked over the fire by a Registered Maine Guide who was volunteering to teach campfire cooking.

The Winter Outdoors Series is available to the 60+ schools across Maine’s 16 counties that are part of Teens to Trails’ network of Outdoor Clubs. Any middle or high school can join the network. The series continues with ice fishing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, and snow tubing. The next program is at Camden Snow Bowl.

For more information about Teens to Trails visitteenstotrails.org.

Teens to Trails is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit dedicated to connecting teenage students to life-changing outdoor experiences with a vision that all teens have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors together.

Hidden Valley Nature Center is a 1,000-acre conservation property in Jefferson, Maine, offering year-round outdoor recreation and educational programs. Owned and managed by Midcoast Conservancy, their mission is to protect vital lands and waters of midcoast Maine on a scale that matters and inspire wonder and action on behalf of all species and the earth.