Know a teen? Love a teen? Work with teens? It’s no secret adolescence is a time when youth turn inward, and Hearty Roots is on a mission to turn young adults toward the outdoors – away from screens and into meaningful adventures, where real connections are made with real people amid Maine’s wild spaces. They can’t do it alone. Especially as today’s teens navigate screen addition and social media use. “Hearty Roots provides opportunities for youth to quiet the mind, calm the senses, and decompress from overstimulation caused by excessive screentime,” says Shannon M. Parker, a longtime supporter of Hearty Roots and current capital campaign coordinator.

In 2022, with support from the Peter Alfond Foundation, Hearty Roots established Taproot Therapeutic Adventure, a direct-service, non-clinical, mental health initiative to support Maine youth who disproportionately experience social and/or personal anxieties, and debilitating depression that can result in self-harm and suicidal tendencies. “We believe in reducing barriers to wellness while increasing opportunities for stewardship of the self, our land, and our community,” Parker added. In Maine, 1 in 4 kids identify with one or more mental health challenges, compared to 1 in 6 nationally. These are crisis-level statistics that don’t always capture the human side of wellness.

In response, Hearty Roots has created an opportunity to hear from local teens directly. Show up for teens by showing up for the teen panel at Boothbay Harbor’s Harbor Theater on Sept. 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. Let adolescent youth know they aren’t alone as they navigate technology that’s changed the way we all engage. Along with the panel, the evening will include the showing of the documentary Childhood 2.0, as well as a homegrown, Hearty Roots mini-film, featuring the kids and land our Midcoast community cherishes. Tools and resources will also be shared. The evening is free, with a suggested donation of $20. All proceeds will go directly to scholarship for participants.

Hearty Roots believes every kid deserves a chance to “get off the grid and into their heart.” For more information on Hearty Roots year-round programming, their capital campaign for the “Hearty Roots Campus for Mindful Adventure,” or sponsoring a child’s hearty adventure through scholarship, visit heartyroots.org. They can’t wait to meet you in Maine’s wild, where journeys overlap.