It’s 4:30 am and dawn has barely cracked over Chewonki Neck, but the buzz of metal zippers and the swish-swish of nylon-on-nylon has already woken Iz, a Chewonki trip leader, from their sleeping bag slumber. A zealous thwack on the side of their tent seals the deal; Iz is fully awake, along with the seven teenage members of the two-week Maine Northwoods Canoe Backcountry expedition who arrived at Chewonki the day before. “Breakfast isn’t for another three-hours!” Iz shouts sleepily, but the group can’t hold in their excitement. They’ve already packed their gear, ready to bound into the backcountry.
The kind of excitement that wakes you up at 4:30 in the morning with bright eyes and a body full of adrenaline isn’t uncommon at Chewonki – but this group is. Their expedition has been made possible through the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, a program funded by the Maine Department of Education (via American Rescue Act Covid-relief funds) that provides all expense-paid backcountry expeditions to young Mainers who would otherwise not be able to access them.
Above: The Maine Department of Education funded two-week Chewonki expeditions for fifty Maine teens this summer, including this group on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
So, imagine the excitement of Iz’s group and multiply it by 50—that’s how many Maine Department of Education-funded participants Chewonki is hosting this year. Now, multiply that number by 177, the total number of outdoor programs Maine is funding this year across the state. That’s a whole lot of enthusiasm for the natural world!
Elly Thomas, Chewonki Trip Coordinator, shared that we received an impressive 115 applications for the 50 state-funded spots. Accepted trippers were integrated into Chewonki’s regularly scheduled backcountry expeditions (Iz’s group was all state-funded participants by coincidence). Their reasons for applying varied: some participants wanted to deepen their interest in the outdoors, others sought to explore new parts of the state, and many simply wanted to try something new. Regardless of their motivations, each participant found exactly what they were looking for.
Above: Chewonki trip leaders Iz and Jed, who guided the Maine Northwoods Canoe Trip. Iz said “There wasn’t a day when trippers weren’t talking about how awesome [the expedition] was.”
For example, on the Maine Northwoods Canoe Trip, our seven enthusiastic trippers started at Chamberlain Lake on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and finished at Fort Kent, near the Canadian border. “It was spectacular the whole time,” Iz recalls. “There wasn’t a day when trippers weren’t talking about how awesome it was.” For two weeks, the teens’ spunk outlasted hot days, long portages, rainstorms, blisters, challenging whitewater, and more.
It’s an incredible journey, without question. Perhaps more so for our state-funded participants because they had to overcome an extra obstacle to attend.
Above: Chewonki trippers made healthy, hearty trail meals each night at camp and found a few surprises in the woods – like these old railroad cars.
Our Northwoods Canoe trippers returned home in early July, and they’ll soon realize they’ve gained more than just memories. They’ve developed resilience and enhanced their problem-solving skills, all while cultivating a passion for the outdoors. Their relationship with technology has shifted, and they’ve discovered more authentic versions of themselves. They’ve proven they’re capable of physical work and have glimpsed different career paths. Most importantly, these trips have shown participants that they can tackle hard and challenging tasks and emerge successful.
A huge thank you to the Maine Department of Education for supporting our Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative. We’re grateful that more Mainers than ever are experiencing the transformative benefits of a Chewonki education. Here’s to many more early mornings this summer and beyond!
Above: Our Maine Northwoods Canoe Trip in action, captured on one of our trip cameras.
American Rescue Plan Act GREER, Rverted EANS Funding received from the USDOE supports the implementation of this project. The project has an award totaling $6.6 million dollars of which 100% is federally funded and direction attributed to project implementation. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by the USDOE or the U.S. Government.
