Skowhegan Area High School Outing Club during a knot-tying clinic on Zoom. Top row, from left, are Dan Moreshead (SAHS advisor), Emma Corwin (MainStreet Skowhegan/ Skowhegan Outdoors), and Miles Lambke. Second row, from left, are Zoe Lambke, Gage Morgan and Ethan Hovencamp. Third row, from left, are Kate Drummond (SAHS advisor), Jakub Prokop and Sam Voter. Contributed photo

Each year, Teens to Trails, a nonprofit based in Brunswick, offers high school outing clubs across the state the chance to win a $500 grant to use towards trip planning, gear and safety skills and training for club leaders.

Outing clubs give students the chance to explore nature together, try new outdoor activities and develop lifelong leadership skills. Two area schools, Skowhegan Area High School and Maine Academy of Natural Sciences in Hinckley, were awarded grants.

Both high school clubs are fairly new. Skowhegan started up again in 2020 with new leadership, and the MeANS club is in its second year.

For newer clubs like these, grants help with gear, transportation, and funding for trips. Skowhegan’s immediate goal is to take a few day trips to explore local trails, and if COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, an overnight trip in May to Adventure Bound in Caratunk for white water rafting.

MeANS looks to use its funds for an end-of-the-year trip to Millinocket to hike Katahdin.

Hope Haskell, MeANS outing club leader, said the grant provides a great opportunity for her students to try new outdoor experiences, including hiking Katahdin for the first time.

“My students love being outside and this grant will surely be put to good use. Being outside brings good times,” she said in a news release from Teens to Trails.

Through the support of L.L.Bean, Teens to Trails is able to offer financial grants to help strengthen outing clubs throughout the state. Executive Director Alicia Heyburn is thankful for the ongoing support of Teens to Trails donors. Their generosity propels the organization’s mission to create life changing outdoor experiences for high school students.

“Our Grants-to-Clubs program offers a chance for us to distribute our donor’s support directly to schools,” Heyburn said, according to the release. “We are so pleased to help the Skowhegan and MeANS Outing Clubs have great experiences outdoors.”

Since 2008, Teens To Trails has awarded more than $73,000 in grants to outing clubs through the Grants-To-Clubs Program.