At Ely Outfitting Company, we care about inspiring the next generation of Boundary Waters explorers and advocates. That why we are proud to support Kids for the Boundary Waters (Kids4BW) by donating the complete canoe trip outfitting and lodging for up to seven winners of their unique essay contest. Their essay contest has a great hook: applicants must have never visited the Boundary Waters. The crew of neophyte essay contest winners will travel with two experienced group leaders from Kids4BW for five days in the Wilderness. Please share this exciting opportunity with those who will be 15 – 18 years old on June 21, 2020. The entry deadline is Feb. 9, 2020, and the essay prompt is: Why do you want to explore the Boundary Waters, and how would winning this contest break down any barriers potentially preventing you from exploring the wilderness?
Kids for the Boundary Waters is a group of talented young people who care deeply about the Boundary Waters. Joseph Goldstein launched the group to raise a generation of young Wilderness Warriors who are educated about and involved in the fight to defend the pristine waters, forest and wildlife of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness against sulfide-ore copper mines proposed within its watershed.
The winner of our first annual (2018) Boundary Waters Teen Essay Contest was Julia Ruelle (wearing the yellow jacket, above). Julia (age 16) was a sophomore at Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and journeyed with three friends for a week in the BWCA. Click here for her essay.
The winners of the second annual (2019) Boundary Waters Teen Essay Contest were Josie, an 11th grade student from St. Anthony, Minnesota (click here for her essay) and Shea, an 11th grade student from Ventura, California (click here for her essay).
For 2020, Ely Outfitting Company is donating the complete canoe trip outfitting and lodging for the Kids for the Boundary Waters essay contest.