Since 2021, BMWF has been investing and growing our Wilderness Education programs to engage a more diverse community of people who want to experience the benefits of wild nature. We know firsthand how much knowledge and experience is needed to safely recreate in a remote Wilderness area like the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
By providing low-barrier, free-of-charge educational opportunities, we hope to foster better backcountry users who value this landscape and practice ethics like Leave No Trace when they’re recreating on their own. The Bob is facing more use than ever before, and we all need to work together to sustain its wild character.
Classroom Visits
Teachers: Bring the Bob to your classroom! Each winter and spring, our Education Specialist Erynn Castellanos visits classrooms of all ages on all sides of the Bob. We can work with you to design a curriculum to fit your classroom’s needs.
Possible topics include: the history and value of Wilderness; resource protection and Leave No Trace; the natural role of fire in Wilderness; reducing the spread of invasive species; traditional tools and trail work methods; and more.
Reach out to Erynn at erynn@bmwf.org to get on our schedule for the coming school year!
Fieldtrips, Campfire Chats and Day Trips
Want to get your students, scouts, group or club out into the field? We can work with you to create an exciting, compelling trip to the wilds. We can provide a practical lesson on invasive species and preserving native habitat with Pull Your Share, or offer an introduction to Wilderness management through a hands-on day brushing and clearing trail. If you already have an overnight trip planned, we can drop in to provide an educational campfire chat for your group.
Reach out to Erynn at erynn@bmwf.org to see how we can work together.
*If your group is interested in doing an extended stewardship-based project, please visit our Partner Project page here. We can build in education elements to these projects too!
Backcountry Education Trips
Each summer we offer 2-3 extended education-focused trips for new users to gain hands-on skills to recreate in the backcountry in a supportive, welcoming community of their peers. We often work with partner groups for these trips, such as Here Montana and Latino Outdoors, to help reach new communities who want to gain outdoor experience.
One such trip we offer every summer is Girls in the Bob, to bring teenage and young adult women (ages 14-19) on a volunteer adventure in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex for a week to get their hands dirty on wilderness stewardship projects. The girls work together to find their strength, push their limits, make new friends, sleep under the stars, and have an adventure of a lifetime.
If you’re interested in learning more about Girls in the Bob, see our current trip offering on our Volunteer Adventure schedule.
If you’re interested in joining a different education-focused trip, or organizing one for your own group, please reach out to Erynn at erynn@bmwf.org to learn more.