Over the past few years, Harpswell Coastal Academy’s outdoor leadership programs have continued to grow. From our humble beginnings of casual walks on our local trails, we have expanded to add electives in snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, biking, bushcraft, and hiking as well as multi-week summer programs with overnights across Maine and New Hampshire. These programs have given students across divisions a chance to hike, canoe, cook, and camp all while learning how to function as a cohesive group and picking up leadership techniques along the way. This Spring, Mr. Werner is excited to be running our first ever Outdoor Leadership Training program. This two-month program allowed a small group of Division 2 and 3 students learn a wide variety of hard skills (fire-making, knots, canoeing, first aid, etc.) as well as learning the soft skills necessary to create safe, fun, and inclusive environments for fellow students on future trips. Over the summer, we plan to have multiple outdoor offerings, ranging from hiking and kayaking around Harpswell to week-long biking, hiking, and canoeing trips in Northern Maine and New Hampshire.