Behind the scenes: Elevating youth voices for wellbeing
We often share stories about what’s happening on the frontlines of our programs, events and campaigns, but there is always vital work happening behind the scenes at the Crew. This month, I’m particularly excited to share an evolving project with far-reaching goals.
Adventure Crew was founded on a simple truth: nature is good for kids. As we grow, we’re committed to deepening our understanding of how well we’re delivering on this.
Our commitment to better understanding our teens’ physical and mental wellbeing — and finding ways to integrate youth-driven strategies into every program — has led us to an important, long-term shift: building a community-driven approach that puts their voices at the center of everything we do. We know that those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions. Who better to guide our efforts than the teens themselves?
First, this entails laying a strong foundation of training for our staff and building a network of experts who can help us thoughtfully integrate youth-led wellbeing strategies into our work. That’s why we launched the Wellbeing Advisory Team last fall — a group of pediatricians, psychologists, cardiologists and nature-based therapists who bring invaluable insight to our programs. It’s also why Director of Programming, Paige Young, and I are participating in the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Translational Science and Training’s Community Leaders Institute, equipping us with tools to better use data and deepen our impact in health-related outcomes for our teens.
Ultimately, our goal is to bring the Wellbeing Advisory Team together with a new youth leadership team, which will launch later this spring, uniting expertise with lived experience. With adults as allies and teens equipped as researchers and leaders, we’ll create a collaborative approach that ensures our health-based initiatives are not just for youth, but led by them.
It is our responsibility to ensure that every Crew adventure is not just an outdoor experience, but a catalyst for improving wellbeing.
Here is a small glimpse into what our teens are experiencing: After our new Discoverer-level ski and snowboard program wrapped up its final session, offering teens five visits to Perfect North Slopes for a deeper, more immersive experience, we asked for reflections from participants as to how they felt after the program. In the past, our ski and snowboard opportunities were limited to a single visit each winter, providing a fun introduction to the sport. This new multi-session model provided more time for teens to build confidence, grow friendships and see patterns in how they feel after being out on the slopes:
“I was able to go home and relax better. I wasn’t stressed from the school week afterwards.”
”I just felt excited to get out and do something active. I do not always have the opportunity to go skiing and it made me feel more confident in my abilities and happy because I made some new friends.”
“It made me realize how much I do enjoy skiing and how much it makes me happy.”
At the heart of it all, we’re listening and learning — to and from the experts, the research and most importantly, our teens. Thanks for being part of this journey with us. I look forward to sharing updates with you!
– Libby