Center Supports Regional Outdoor Recreation Projects with Support from LL Bean

This summer, the Center provided funding to 15 Northern Forest organizations to increase youth access to and participation in outdoor recreation via a mini-grant program generously funded by LL Bean.

Recipients included trail organizations, outing clubs, conservation committees, and municipalities.

“We gave high priority to programs that helped remove barriers to participation or that had a forest stewardship component to them,” said Outdoor Recreation Manager Joe Fox.

The grants will support trail stewardship skill development, mountain biking, Nordic skiing, rock climbing, archery, and hiking. Together, these grants will give hundreds of young people in the Northern Forest opportunities to explore and enjoy the outdoors.

The grants, which were capped at $3000, were targeted to small groups in which funding would have a significant impact.

“By expanding our trail network closer to home, we hope we can engage more young people in the sport of mountain biking and get the kids that are already mountain biking to bike more frequently,” said Chris Dussault, board president of the Caledonia Trail Collaborative.

Chelsea Denny, who works in Youth and Family Development with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County in Plattsburgh, NY, said that their “4-H archery program meets monthly at the Rod and Gun Club in Plattsburgh, rain or shine! The largest struggle for our program, with 24 active members participating monthly, is having enough arrows. This has been an on-going limitation for us without consistent funding, but, this year’s generous donation from the Northern Forest Center has allowed us to buy over 15 dozen arrows to keep our program running for the foreseeable future.”

Jane Chandler, chair of the Woodstock, Maine, Conservation Commission, said that the group was able to engage local youth groups and school programs in trail stewardship activities at Buck’s Ledge with tools purchased with grant funds.

James Bentley, a coach with Hilltopper MTB, a youth program that participates in Vermont Youth Cycling races, said, “The physical, social, and mental benefits that come from mountain biking should not be limited only to kids of a certain socioeconomic background. Thanks to this funding, we will be able to make Hilltopper MTB affordable for all Northeast Kingdom families.”

In addition to providing financial support, the Center will convene grant recipients for a virtual discussion of what they have accomplished and learned. “We have found through other programs that peer learning can be invaluable as a tool to share and learn and foster relationships between people facing similar challenges, ” said Fox.

This was the second round of grants that LL Bean funded to support recreation improvements by community-based organizations. In the first round, in 2023, the Center awarded 15 grants.

See the full list of grant awards from this round.

Maine

Oxford Hills Outing Club, Bethel area: Support for a Nordic skiing lending library and funds to support a service-learning project involving local youth.
Woodstock Conservation Commission, Woodstock: Trail maintenance tools used by local school groups maintaining Buck’s Ledge Community Forest.
Fryeburg Conservation Committee, Fryeburg: Support for the construction of an outdoor learning classroom in the Fryeburg Town Forest and youth engagement in stewardship activities.
Natural Resource Education Center, Greenville: Tuition offset for the Maine Woods Explorer Rock Climbing Camp for local youth.

New Hampshire

PRKR MTN Trails, Littleton: Development of a new youth/ beginner-focused skills area of a mountain bike trail network; trail stewardship fund.
Poore Family Foundation for North Country Conservancy, Stewartstown: Tools for local youth to engage in stewardship activities on conserved land.
Coös Cycling Club, Gorham: Support to a youth mountain bike program to lower costs for participants; trail stewardship fund.

Vermont

St. Johnsbury Recreation Department, St. Johnsbury: Scholarships for participation in the Hilltopper MTB program, a mountain bike club affiliated with VT Youth Cycling.
Caledonia Trail Collaborative, St. Johnsbury: Expand trail network for local youth mountain bike club to train on.
Craftsbury Trails, Craftsbury: Create a trail connecting the school and village together so kids can mountain bike to school.
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury: Construction of a “turn track” that helps beginners develop mountain biking skills.

New York

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County, Plattsburgh: Strengthening a popular 4-H youth archery program.

Staff Contact

Joe Fox

Outdoor Recreation Manager

Cell: 802-751-9205

Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

New York

Staff Contact

Joe Fox

See More of Our Work in Outdoor Recreation

Center Completes Moosehead Outdoor Recreation Investment Strategy

Signage Builds Connections with Greenway

getNEKedVT Transitions to the Chamber