Project Success creates BWCA 2020: Minneapolis Edition!, and is honored with Conservation Award

BWCA Minneapolis Edition!

What do you do when annual plans to bring 150 middle-school kids on their first trip to the Boundary Waters have to be canceled due to a pandemic? This spring, Project Success faced this exact dilemma.

Due to COVID-19, our team quickly realized one of the cornerstones of our programming — our annual BWCA adventure — would have to be transformed. We knew we wanted to preserve the opportunity for our students to step outside their comfort zones, work together, and learn to be good stewards of the environment. After some brainstorming and planning, the idea for the BWCA Adventure: Minneapolis Edition was born.

In June, over fifty students from seven PS middle schools embarked on a week of local outdoor activities. They were divided into smaller teams, each led by Project Success staff. Each student had a BWCA Minneapolis Edition Supply Kit, which included their own BWCA map, food, swag, and supplies that they needed for the week. Teams had theme names such as the Elusive Mooses, The Northern Lights, and Savvy Spruces. There was a “call to the outdoors” each day, including a five-day Team Challenge, encouraging students to get outside and enjoy nature while on different nature quests.

Some of the outdoor challenges students completed during the week included “Mapping Monday,” where they learned how to read and navigate BWCA maps and plan a virtual BWCA trip! On “Thriving Thursday,” students learned survival skills such as knot tying, shelter building and crafting their own survival bracelet for their next wilderness adventure. The week wrapped up with a special video presentation in kayaks from our BWCA Mpls Edition leads, Jenny and Anne, honoring the student teams, which was filmed on one of our local lakes.

We called on both longtime and new PS partners to bring this new outdoor adventure experience to fruition. We couldn’t have made this possible without their help. Special thanks to Friends of the Boundary Waters, Wilderness Canoe Base, Wilderness Inquiry, Laura at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, Explorers Dave and Amy Freeman, W.A. Fisher, Jeffers Foundation and Jon and Shelby at Zoom! Their generosity, including knowledge, time, video content and materials helped to deepen the experience for all of our 50+ campers

BWCA Minneapolis Edition! Daily Activities

Mapping Monday: Learn how to read and navigate a BWCA map from our partners at Friends of the Boundary Waters and plan your virtual BWCA Trip! Students will receive their own map and will work together with their group online to plan a route for their virtual trip.

Trail Shack Tuesday: Take a virtual tour of the Wilderness Canoe Base Trail Shack! Learn about all the equipment needed to spend a week in the wilderness and how to make the delicious food you eat out on trail. Working with your group, you will make an equipment list and a meal plan for your virtual trip and spend time eating in the great outdoors!

Wilderness Wednesday: Partners from the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Wilderness Canoe Base and Friends of the Boundary Waters will share with you the beauty of all that is living in the BWCA wilderness and our local nature areas. Get outside and explore some of these trees, birds and animals that you learned about!

Thriving Thursday (Survival Skills): Learn survival tips & techniques with our friends at Wilderness Inquiry so that you may thrive in your wilderness setting. Practice knot tying, shelter building and make your own survival bracelet for your next wilderness adventure! 

Freeman Friday: Meet Dave and Amy Freeman of Freemans Explore! Since 2001, Dave and Amy have traveled over 30,000 miles by kayak, canoe and dogsled through some of the world’s wildest places, from the Amazon to the Arctic. On September 23rd, 2015, they embarked on a yearlong adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. During their year, they traveled more than 2,000 miles by canoe and dog team as they explored more than 500 lakes and streams. Dave and Amy will share their story with Project Success campers and families live via Zoom. Join us to hear about their adventures and ask any questions you might have about spending an entire year in the BWCA Wilderness!

Saturday: We announced the Team Challenge winners! EVERY student that participated received a prize dropped off at their home on Sunday.

Student and Parent Feedback

“The most inspiring thing I found in nature were flowers. On Monday they were still very small and were not in bloom, but by the end of the week they were beautiful and I found that very inspiring how much they changed in a week.” – PS Student

“Amazing!! This was such a fun week. You inspired us as a family to plan a BWCA trip this summer. Haven’t been there in 15 years! (So the kids have never been there). We appreciate you pulling together this super fun week. Thank you, thank you!! Oliver chooses the camping hammock as a prize. He is sooooo happy!! Thank you!! Project Success continues to amaze us.” – PS Parent

“Thanks to all of you for your efforts and dedication. Your passion is evident in how you pulled off this last week. Rowan can’t wait for Next year. We appreciate all you have done!!” – PS Parent

“Today this student started off jumping on to the Zoom call from her house, and then the next thing I knew she was in the car. I found out later that she was going on a hike at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park with her family and friends. She had her Team Challenge packet with her right from the get go and didn’t let any grass grow under her feet. She sent many photos of her at Nerstrand including in a waterfall, making a cairn, reflecting on her walk in the woods, and my favorite, a video of her friends and adults on the hike walking like moose through the woods!” – PS Staff Member

Project Success Receives BWCA Program Award

We’re thrilled to announce that Project Success has been honored by one of our partner organizations for our work in providing access to wilderness opportunities for our students.  Each year, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness presents Conservation Awards in three categories: people, wilderness, and community. The Conservation Award in the people category recognizes efforts to connect people to the Boundary Waters. Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness selected Project Success for the award this year for our efforts and dedication to connect students to the Boundary Waters despite the challenges from COVID-19. Project Success was featured at their recent virtual gala and in their Quarterly Newsletter.

“As we at Friends continue to build our No Boundaries to the Boundary Waters educational program, we are thrilled to continue to develop our relationship with Project Success. The passion and creativity they demonstrated in their “Boundary Waters: Minneapolis Edition” week is nothing short of inspiring.”

Congratulations to our Project Success team that created this unique curriculum to make BWCA: Minneapolis Edition so engaging for our students – Jenny, Anne, Rose, Ryan, and Sam!