Urban Wilderness prepares to expand its outreach to Minneapolis as new staff members participate in a canoe build.

"They were able to disconnect from the constant stream of feeds and connect to the rhythm of the natural world and themselves as an imperative part of it."

News article from Chicago’s Daily Herald touches on upcoming boatbuild with Waukegan students and our partnership with The Center for Conservation Leadership.

"The STEM-based project saw students construct a skin-on frame canoe as part of their daily classwork, which Hohlefelder was able to tie into traditional areas of study such as math and science, as well as social studies and language arts."

Read and watch local news coverage of Urban Wilderness Program.

Vlog gives insight on boatbuilding experience.

The great migration to International Falls has begun.

Here are some fun facts gathered from a very successful year!

Urban Wilderness will be partnering with the Cincinnati Museum Center for an open canoe build!

We are proud to have been featured in an NRF blog.

This trip reaffirmed our program’s goal of broadening its outreach beyond the Cincinnati area. Where to next?

This 22-foot trailer has all of the tools and materials necessary to build a canoe, extends our program to teach new skills, and allows us to reach organizations outside of Cincinnati.

Unbridled Media came to Cincinnati last fall to capture the students at Aiken High School in action.

Urban Wilderness Program partners with Boy Scouts, Daniel Beard Counsel to extend reach and impact.

Caged Crow Customs, located in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, has begun to create the Urban Wilderness Program’s mobile makerspace.

Earlier this month, our Urban Wilderness Staff worked with students at Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky to build a beautiful (green!) skin-on-frame canoe. The video below was created by Zach Wells.

The students—hailing from more than 20 countries around the globe—spent 10 days learning and implementing techniques such as steam-bending, lashing, lacing, riveting, skinning and paddle carving.

The sun was out, masks were (mostly) on, and the pond at Burnet Woods was buzzing with boat traffic. This Saturday, our Urban Wilderness Program staff hosted a free canoeing session as part of the Great Outdoor Week.

The Urban Wilderness Program’s STEM-based boatbuilding program is in full swing and fifth-graders at Kilgour School in Cincinnati completed their third canoe last week.

Of course, it wasn’t enough just to build the canoe. The students put their workmanship to the test during a trip to Otto Armleder Park. After paddling around the Little Miami River, passengers remained dry and smiling. It’s fair to say that their handiwork held up.