Choose Outside: Summer Challenge
Maine summers are short and spectacular. This summer, we're inviting every Maine student to make the most of them - one adventure at a time.
Time outside does more than get you away from a screen. Research shows it reduces stress, lifts your mood, sharpens focus, and boosts overall well-being. Add in the trails, tidal pools, and blueberry barrens right in your backyard, and there's really no reason to stay in.
Do a couple. Do a lot. Do them all. Earn points. Win prizes. Choose Outside.
Dates: June 15, 2026 to August 14, 2026
Participants: Students of all ages
The prize:
Why It Matters
Being active outdoors builds more than good stories. It builds strength, confidence, and community. Whether you're hiking a ridge, catching a sunset, or just breathing fresh air with bare feet in the grass, time outside helps you slow down, be present, and experience Maine in ways no screen ever could.
This challenge extends the Life Happens Outside Challenge beyond May, keeping the momentum all summer long.
How to participate:
Register for the challenge.
*Information collected at registration will only be used to communicate about challenge events and prize winners.
Download and print your tracker.
Fill in one shape for 30+ daily minutes outside, phone-free.
Fill in one letter for one adventure or new skill learned.
Get Outside!
Use the activity ideas for inspiration - or invent your own. Adventures can be big (summit a mountain) or small (draw a landscape in your yard). It all counts.
Submit Your Adventure Tracker at the of the Challenge!
Learn more below
Prizes & rewards
everyone that enters - gets entered into the raffle - and certificate of completion
Entered into a raffle with amazing outdoor gear
Adventure Ideas?
Need a spark? Try any of these - or check them off as you go.
Adventures with purpose
Sleep under the stars
Hike a new local trail
Watch the sunrise or sunset
Skip rocks across a lake or ocean
Share a picnic lunch with friends
Identify 5 species of birds
Build a fort in the woods
Climb a mountain or a big hill
Stargaze on a clear night
Walk barefoot outside for 1 hour
Photograph insects or wildflowers
Follow a stream wherever it leads
Cook food over a campfire
Sleep in a tent in the yard
Explore a tidal pool at low tide
Pick wild blueberries in August
Take a walk in the rain
Draw or paint a landscape outdoors
Make a bouquet out of wildflowers
Do a nighttime walk with a headlamp
Bike on a rail trail
Start a nature journal
Learn something new
Learn to tie five knots
Learn to identify 10 birds by sight or song
Learn how to clean and maintain your bike
Learn to read a topo map
Learn to identify 5 constellations
Learn to fly a kite