Tragedy spurs outing programs Teens aided in discovering nature

Teens To Trails is a new organization that’s dedicated to helping Maine high schools develop outdoor programs and outing clubs.

It was founded by Carol and Bob Leone of Edgecomb in 2006. They started the organization after their 15-year-old daughter, Sara, a member of the Wiscasset High School Outing Club, died in a car accident in 2005.

The Leones had always enjoyed the outdoors with both their daughters, and turning a tragedy into something positive was their goal. They created Teens To Trails and dedicated the project to Sara and all the people involved in the outdoor community.

During the past week or so, I had a chance to talk to Carol and find out more about their effort. First, I asked how the idea came about.

“When we lost Sara, I found myself searching for what was real in this world. The only things that surfaced were people and nature,” Carol said.

The Leones have always been an outdoor family, with Carol working as a park ranger with the National Park Service. She worked in a variety of jobs with the service until she retired, including the Appalachian Trail Park Office. Bob worked as the Mid-States Field Representative for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The next step seemed obvious, so they started the project.

But, I asked, why should the outdoors be important to teenagers?

“When I look back on my life, I realize that all my most amazing and meaningful memories took place outdoors,” Carol said. “Nature has a way of breaking down barriers and of putting everyone on an equal footing. It is amazing the bonds that can form from sitting around a campfire together under the stars.”

She added, “Young people need this ‘unstructured’ time, to explore, to ponder, to look and feel or to be introspective. In addition to acquiring outdoor skills, teens gain confidence and a self-reliance that will follow them through life. They learn about themselves while they learn about the world that surrounds them.”

She also referred to Richard Louv’s 2005 book, “Last Child in the Woods,” in which he spends chapters on how children, especially, need nature to properly develop their senses, for learning and creativity. From the beginning, Teens To Trails adopted the slogan Fight Nature Deficit Disorder from the subtitle of the book.

Carol told me about the services T3 (Teens To Trails, abbreviated) provides.

“We are working on a mentoring program to link high schools to college outing clubs, safety training for Outing Club leaders, negotiated discounts on outdoor gear and rentals, a written guide on ‘How to start an Outing Club,” and startup packets for new clubs,” she said. “Part of what we do is simply link people together.”

With more than 40 percent of youth in America, according to one study, likely to have heart and circulation difficulty, the goal is to get them outdoors and active. To achieve that goal, Teens To Trails maintains a very informative Web site, teentotrails.org, on topics for outing clubs such as the Tools for Outing Clubs link. There, subjects run from trip packing lists for groups, planning, Leave No Trace principles, weather forecasts and descriptions of favorite hikes.

But running the Web site is not all they do. Carol and Bob are particularly proud of their annual conference. The public is invited to participate in all sorts of workshops.

“We had about 300 people attend last year. All of Maine’s premier trails systems were there: the Appalachian Trail, Maine Island Trail, Baxter State Park, Allagash Wilderness Waterway and the Northern Forest Canoe Trail,” Carol said. “We had 25 different workshops last year and are planning even more hands-on sessions this year. And the exhibitors add a lot to the atmosphere. It is an amazing synergy that is created when all these types get together.”

The theme for this year’s conference is “Gotta Get Out!” It will be held at Windham High School on April 5. T3 is organizing workshops to cover everything from rock climbing, hiking the Appalachian Trail, volunteering, winter camping, backcountry cooking and geo-caching. L.L. Bean will be there again this year to help people learn to cast flies. Chewonki Foundation will bring its owl program. There will also be workshops for anyone willing to start an outing club.

Getting youth away from all the modern distractions such as the Web, video games and home entertainment delivered to their phones is a huge challenge for Teens To Trails. But Carol and Bob are determined. They don’t do it all alone, either. They have a dedicated volunteer crew of skilled outdoor educators, instructors and guides to help make all of the effort possible.

Of the more than 200 high schools in Maine, only about 30 have an outing club type program, according to Carol.

“We would like to see a teen outing club in every Maine high school,” she said. “We envision an association of these clubs for mutual support with Teens To Trails providing the backbone.”

Carol and Bob have created a nonprofit organization that is on its way toward achieving an admirable goal, making teenagers aware of their natural surroundings and sense of place. It’s a difficult job that never seems to end.

When we spoke, Carol was filling out grant forms trying to raise money from the smallest of sources. She owns and operates a boat lettering business. Bob’s a builder. They get a lot of support from friends and volunteers, but the public needs to get involved.

Anyone with an interest in the outdoors can help. Check out the Teens to Trails Web site, talk to your teenager about whether their high school has an outdoor program as part of their curriculum or at least an outing club. Then, contact Teens to Trails to see how they can help get one started. Because together, we can all fight Nature Deficit Disorder and get teens outdoors.

sourball@gwi.net