Trees for Tomorrow in Eagle River has received $14,000 to help bring urban kids to the Northwoods to experience the outdoors.
The money comes from a Milwaukee-based non-profit formed to determine the viability of the continuation of two rustic Boy Scout camps in the Northwoods.
In 2015, for a variety of reasons the Robert S. Lyle Scout Reservation located near Elcho was closed. Also closed in 2015 was Camp Lefeber near Laona. With the main camp at Laona closing, the Baden-Powell Northwoods Experience looked to find a place to continue its outdoors mission.
Executive Director of Trees For Tomorrow, Robin Ginner, says the Board decided unanimously to close the camps and donate any remaining funds to Trees For Tomorrow. ...
"....they were looking for an organization to funnel the rest of their proceeds to. After talking to their full board, they decided Trees For Tomorrow fit their mission and vision and incorporated a lot of of the learning experiences the scouts would have gotten at the camp near Laona...."
Ginner says the money will be used for scholarships and also students in the Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha areas to take part in "Trees" natural resources education....
"....for some of these kids who come from larger cities, this is their first experience in a wilderness setting, certainly in a small rural northern setting. So it is exiciting for them to get off the bus and be face to face with a completely different community, a part of the state they've never been in before and for some of these kids, may never be in again....."
Students will receive 3-4 days of hands-on, intensive learning about Northwoods ecology, and stewardship and sustainability of our natural resources.
