Completing the Ecybermission project took many months of dedication, loyalty to each other, and excitement about our project. In April 2013, the team Trailblazer was formed. As a group of sixth graders, we had been looking forward to being old enough to participate in this competition. Each of us knew we needed team members who were responsible, dependable, flexible, and encouraging. Our team advisor (and the guides on Ecybermission) reminded us that a strong team had members with lots of different characteristics, who could complete many kinds of tasks during the year. Having a common goal was also important, so we chose members who loved the outdoors and had time to devote to changing a community attitude.
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“There is a great deal of damage caused to children who rarely experience the natural world. It's crucial not to shield them from adventures in the great outdoors.”
--Richard Louv “A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children.”
--John James Audubon |
The Trailblazer team was concerned about the lack of outdoor activity of children today. To learn more, we decided to survey adults and children about their outdoor habits. Our team learned that this generation spends much less time outdoors than the previous three generations – and we interviewed all four, from ages 5 to 90! The Trailblazers began an outdoor adventure program during which young students were given the opportunity to spend time in the great outdoors with us – older kids and mentors to them. Their attitudes about nature changed over time! Next, explorations with first graders led to the discovery of an abandoned railroad track. The ties and rails were pulled up 25 years ago and the prairie had slowly covered the berm. Land had taken it over, as land is prone to do; but, for a 25-mile stretch across Cochran County, there was a perfect location for a hiking and biking trail. We wanted to bring greater adventure to the young people of our community and there was no other place like this available for us to roam. Our goal was to encourage students to spend more time outdoors and establish a trail in our county as a way to lure them there.
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