Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative Helps Students Learn to White Water Kayak

Six students, ranging from grades 8th to 12th, participated in an Introduction to Whitewater Kayaking Camp offered by the Main Street Skowhegan Organization. Thanks to the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, these students could participate in the experience at no cost to them.

The Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative is a program created by the Maine Department of Education (DOE) to engage Maine students with outdoor learning and make outdoor experiences more accessible. This initiative was inspired by a promise made in Governor Mills' 2022 State of the State Address to provide students with more opportunities like the Whitewater Kayaking Camp, where kids can go outside and engage with Maine's natural beauty.

Of the students attending the Whitewater Kayaking Camp, half had participated last year, and half were entirely new to whitewater paddling. The camp was led by expert Ben Koehler, who serves as the program coordinator and has ten years of river guiding and kayak instruction experience. Wasting no time, the students took straight to the water, spending most of their trip in the river. A typical day of camp consisted of driving to the Kennebec River, putting on gear, getting into boats, and riding the currents as they developed their new skills. They would run 'good rapids' for practice only, then hike back upriver to repeat them.

On the first day, all students were in duckies, which are inflatable sit-on-top kayaks with good stability and maneuverability. On the second day, after repeating the skills learned the prior day in duckies, students graduated to whitewater kayaks, in which the kayaker sits inside the boat with a skirt (material that covers the inside of the boat).

"One student was apprehensive to get into a kayak, so the staff helped her by letting her use a funded pack raft, which is an inflated boat that one sits in without a skirt. The funded pack raft was a good bridge between a duckie and a kayak. Practicing on the inflatable raft helped build the student's confidence in paddling and being on the water. Another student in the camp mastered the ability to roll a kayak in whitewater, which is a big step towards becoming an expert at whitewater kayaking," said Koehler.

At the end of the week, all six students could successfully kayak the lower-class III section of the Kennebec River, which is remarkable considering that three of them were brand new to the activity.

Main Street Skowhegan, an organization dedicated to revitalizing historic Skowhegan, hosted the camp. The organization has an impressive collection of outdoor gear that Somerset County residents can rent at no cost. Their partnership with the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative allowed them to expand their gear and provide cost-free programs, like their white water rafting camp. Main Street Skowhegan will continue to offer white water camps and clinics throughout the summer. More information can be found on their website.

Register for Main Street Skowhegan's White Water Camps

The Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative was created with Federal Emergency Relief Funding and is a part of Maine's Whole Student Pandemic Response. Please visit the Maine DOE Website to learn more about Whole Student Pandemic Response and the many other programs that make it up.

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