Charting their own paths forward

Last month, with help with our partners ServeOhio, Northside Greenspace Inc. and Cincinnati Parks, Pathfinder-level teens and adult volunteers removed invasive honeysuckle at Buttercup Valley Preserve.

The concept of our Crew Pathways programs first emerged several years ago, inspired by our teens’ interests in getting out in nature more often, going further with their adventure sport skills and learning about conservation and environmental issues that spark their curiosity. 

Since that time, we have offered several advanced, small group programs each year, such as swim lessons, indoor rock climbing, and wilderness camping and canoeing thanks to our partners SwimSafe, Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition (Climb L8), and Camping and Education Foundation. 

Now, we are thrilled to be launching the next phase of the Crew Pathways with a new name for each of the four progressive programs: Explorers (entry-level adventures); Discoverers (intermediate adventure sports); Pathfinders (conservation and workforce development); and Trailblazers (leadership development, mentoring and extended remote wilderness excursions). 

After taking part in just one of our entry-level Explorers outings, where up to 160 students turn out each Saturday to dive into experiences like kayaking, skiing, ice skating, high ropes courses and hiking, participants can opt in to increasingly advanced, small-group experiences with a specialized focus in each of the three upper-level programs. 

Timed with our planned roll-out of the expanded Pathways in early 2024, our program team is navigating record-setting enrollment in Explorers this school year, up about 40% from last year as of the end of February. Expertly managing the rapidly expanding Explorers program while concurrently designing and launching the first new Pathways programs of 2024 has meant many long days for our Director of Programming, Paige Young – but help is on the horizon!

Thanks to the immense generosity of our circle of supporters, we are now able to add a full-time program manager to lead the Saturday Explorer program, freeing up Paige to plan, coordinate and grow the Discoverers, Pathfinders and Trailblazers programs into robust, evidence-based experiential learning that will involve more than 60 students by the end of the school year. Between January and May of this year, we are partnering with Cincinnati Parks, Greenacres Foundation and Great Parks to offer new, multi-session programs for our Pathways kids in invasive species removal and habitat restoration, horsemanship, and sustainable urban food production. And a huge bonus, we are doubling the number of students in our intensive swimming program to 24. 

If you’ve been curious about seeing our mission in action, email me at libby@adventurecrewcincy.org. We can plan a time for you to visit a program, talk with our teens, and see up-close how Adventure Crew is working to increase equity and access for our city’s young people to determine their own paths in outdoor recreation and future careers across the environmental spectrum. Onward and upward!