The Lasting Benefits of Student Outdoor Experiences

Cory Snow is an English teacher and outing club advisor at South Portland High School. For over a decade, he has experienced a wealth of outdoor adventures with his students. Pre-pandemic, the South Portland Outing Club enjoyed winter overnights at Maine Huts & Trails in Carrabassett Valley, hiked Doublehead Mountain in New Hampshire, and enjoyed Teens to Trails’ Acadia Rendezvous, a fall camping weekend in Acadia National Park that connects outing clubs throughout the state. 

All of these trips would not be possible without our Grants-to-Clubs program and the generosity of Teens to Trails’ donors. For the past few years, South Portland High School has benefited from the help of Sandy Colhoun, the Chief Campaign Officer at Colby College. When asked what drew him to helping the South Portland outdoor program, Colhoun says, “It’s all about Cory Snow. He’s one of those extraordinary humans, and I kept hearing about the great work that he’s doing at South Portland High. Cory loves the outdoors and kids. He really is a model for what outdoor education should look like.” 

Snow is an experienced outdoorsman, who first considered leading his high school outing club after a sabbatical in New Zealand, where it’s typical for schools to incorporate outdoor education into their daily schedules. In the mornings, Snow taught English and in the afternoons, he led a class in white water rafting. He so enjoyed his balanced experience in New Zealand, he decided to highlight its benefits in Maine. 

While Snow’s passion to share his knowledge is invaluable, he’s also keenly aware of the impact a financial gift can have on his outing club’s experiences. He says the support from donors coming through Teens to Trails has helped his club purchase winter sleeping bags, snowshoes, tents, multi-day backpacks and even mountain bikes. He’s also able to coordinate a gear share with the local middle school.

Snow says the grant money has also made it possible for him to offer students access to experiences, such as white water rafting, that they might otherwise not be able to afford, and offer trips, like rock climbing, at a more reasonable price.

In addition to experiencing a variety of outdoor adventures, Snow’s students also develop leadership skills from financial planning to trip planning. The South Portland Outing Club Executive Committee leads meetings on how to financially plan and execute trips. The whole group then discusses the best ways to spend the grant money. 

With dedicated outing club leaders like Cory Snow, and thoughtful benefactors like Sandy Colhoun, so much is possible for the future. Colhoun says, “Once you build that kernel of awareness, you’ll find students developing a deep appreciation for the outdoors, and likely becoming longtime stewards of the land.”