Wanted Teens Seeking Adventure

Captain's Log June 19, 2018-Michigan City The kids conducted their first round of community service by learning about how to spot exotic invaders in both animal and plant species. They performed trail maintenance and sorted mollusks. These duties helped them understand the importance of keeping our blue and green trails healthy. Thank you to our Gold Level Sponsor,  NWI Clean Air , our backbone organization  Miller Beach Arts & Creative District , our community partner  Family Folklore Foundation, Inc . and all our individual donors. Please email  northernlightsecoadventures@gmail.com  for more info. #TakeBikeTheStreets

Captain's Log June 18, 2018-Calumet Trail The kids learned how to properly pack before setting out on the Calumet Trail hike. Our campers are from Gary, Griffith, Munster, Porter and Valpo. They will conduct service based learning across Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. Thank you to our Gold Level Sponsor,  NWI Clean Air , our backbone organization  Miller Beach Arts & Creative District , our community partner  Family Folklore Foundation, Inc . and all our individual donors. Please email  northernlightsecoadventures@gmail.com  for more info. #TakeBikeTheStreets

What is your experience working outdoors? I started hiking and camping when I was a teenager, and later worked for about 8 years as an outdoor guide. I led canoeing & backpacking expeditions in Florida, Minnesota, Maine, and New York.  Now I live in Maine full-time, and my outdoor time is for fun: I like to hike, cross-country ski, and want to learn sea-kayaking. I have my current Wilderness First Responder.  What is your experience with kids? All of my trip-leading experience has been with middle- and high-schoolers. More recently I have been working as a case manager and behavioral health professional for kids  of all ages with mental health needs.   What is a interesting fact about you? I had the chance to participate in the fasting aspect of Ramadan while in the Peace Corps in Morocco.  No eating or drinking all day... in the desert... in August! It was both one of the most unpleasant and one of the most wonderful months of my life...

Meet Gretchen Sipp! Gretchen will be the Course Director for Northern Lights. She will be working behind the scenes while the campers are in the field. She will be helping with logistics of gear and food.  Gretchen Sipp is the founder of GLS Administrative Concierge and Events along with serving as the Education and Youth Chairperson for a neighborhood spotlight initiative. Gretchen has had 8 years of experience in early childhood development, adolescent program management, and event planning for people of all ages. Gretchen has served as the 8 th  grade component manager for a college preparatory initiative spearheaded by Indiana University Northwest. She also served as the Assistant Director for Tender Loving Care Early Childhood Development Center. She currently manages a local small business incubator and coworking space where she is responsible for overall entity direction, fundraising, advocacy and managing external relationships and collaborations, and serves...

Meet Zach Arregui  Northern Light's Technical Guide What is your experience in the outdoors? Grew up canoeing and camping a lot and always loved being outside but started working in the outdoors at Indiana University while I was at school there.  At IU Outdoor Adventures I learned the skills that I needed to be able to teach and lead others on trips.  Backpacking, paddling and climbing were my favorite activities but I love pretty much anything if it's outside.  After IU I also worked at a wilderness therapy boarding school in Oregon where we lived outdoors and practiced both the hard skills required for that lifestyle in addition to the interpersonal skills required to live together in a small community.  While there we also went on many adventure trips that included climbing, backpacking, horseback riding and winter camping among other things.  While I have switched to teaching in classrooms the last few years I still spend as much time...