On September 26, the Canoemobile – a traveling fleet of six Wilderness Inquiry Voyageur canoes – rolled into Brainerd. Hailing from Minneapolis, the Canoemobile is roving the country on a mission to get youth out paddling on their local waterways. The Canoemobile is brought to Brainerd by Wilderness Inquiry in partnership with the National Park Service and Trust for Public Land. An outreach effort of Urban Wilderness Canoe Adventures (UWCA), the Canoemobile program will serve the area’s public middle, junior high and senior high school students.
Crosby-Ironton’s 7th grade class was among a number of school groups that were able to participate in this awesome event. The seventh graders from C-I paddled for an hour an half on a section of the Mississippi River near Green’s Point Landing and also participated in fun and challenging team building and character education games for an hour and a half. The leaders from the Wilderness Inquiry group lead the activities that focused on things such as teamwork, cooperation, respect, responsibility etc.
The transportation portion of this field trip was paid for by the Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation, who offer grant opportunities to Crosby-Ironton students.
The Canoemobile was launched in 2010 and inspired by the “Bookmobile,” which brought environmental literacy to urban youth in cities across America. The twenty-four foot, hand-made cedar canoes carry ten people and are captained by trained Wilderness Inquiry guides.
Brainerd is the fourth stop on the Canoemobile 2013 tour. This year’s Canoemobile, with various federal and local partners, will travel to nineteen cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. (go to http://www.urbanwildernesscanoeadventures.org/for the entire list).
Cuyuna Lakes Education Foundation 