New school year, new Crew initiatives
For the public, Adventure Crew’s August might be defined by book-end events Ohio River Paddlefest and the Great Ohio River Swim (coming up August 27,), our two largest community engagement events of the year, but behind the scenes, Director of Programming Paige Young is hard at work preparing to mobilize her team for another stellar year of adventuring for hundreds of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky youth.
The new school year’s adventures are ready to launch on August 26, when students will take to the Little Miami River on kayaks, followed by lunch and field games at Lake Isabella Park in Loveland. These Saturday programs form the gateway experience of the Crew Pathways, four progressive experiential learning programs where students can determine their own unique paths to deepening relationships with the natural world.
Also soon to launch is Adventure Crew’s new three-year strategic plan, a months-long initiative that has engaged more than 140 individuals representing all sectors of the organization, internal and external. This community-driven process determined that our number one goal should be the evolution of the Crew Pathways.
This means expanding opportunities for our teens in outdoor recreation, adventure sport skills, environmental science and stewardship, career preparation, leadership development and overall well-being as students progress through the Pathways. Kicking off with our new fiscal year on September 1, the new strategic direction will focus on integrating input from our students, their families and school partners with best practices contributed by experts in the fields of outdoor education, social emotional learning and leadership. That will be followed by a phase of translating these learnings into how we design, implement and measure the impact of our programs.
It’s a tall order, continuing to run our usual slate of programs while at the same time working to evolve them — and our team is ready to tackle the challenge. We’ve recruited a breadth of expertise from our region and across the nation to help guide this work, and we will share what we’ve learned, where we are headed and how we are progressing on our commitments to our Crew youth and the greater community. Mark your calendars for our Summits & Horizons event on October 10, where we will reveal our new strategic plan and host celebrated young ornithologist and environmental activist Isaiah Scott as our esteemed keynote speaker.
Thank you for engaging with us as we grow in our commitment to equity, belonging, and inclusion, transforming who accesses the outdoors by nurturing the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts who exemplify the diversity of our city.