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What is ALP?

The Adventure Leadership Program (ALP) is an outdoor-based program that includes youth of all abilities and backgrounds as peers.  ALP combines fun and exciting outdoor adventures with opportunities to learn new skills, make new friends, and create life-changing experiences for teens from 13 to 18 years old.

We get youth “unplugged” and outdoors where they see the benefits of being active, the value of inclusion, and the importance of being part of a bigger community.  We do this through 3-10 day wilderness trips to places like the Boundary Waters, the Apostle Islands, northern Manitoba, the Mississippi River and more.

Youth can sign up for one trip, or take advantage of our year-round opportunities that includes a "package" of 4 - 6 trips and events throughout the year.   Designed to enhance social skills, introduce and practice outdoor skills, and teach inclusive leadership techniques, ALP is patterned after Wilderness Inquiry's staff training curriculum. 

The foundation for ALP  is a philosophy known as "Servant Leadership" that was originally developed by Robert Greenleaf.  Briefly, Servant Leaders seek to enrich the lives of others by modeling and engaging in practices that celebrate people and help them realize their full potential as a person.  ALP also includes a full grounding in outdoor "hard skills" such as canoeing, camp crafts and cooking, as well as higher function "meta-skills" such as judgement and decision making, group management, and situational leadership.

Benefits for youth:

  • Meet new friends, have fun!
  • Learn kayaking, canoeing, backpacking, and other outdoor skills in fantastic outdoor locations
  • Develop understanding and appreciation of youth who are different from each other
  • Exposure and training for career opportunities in the outdoor industry
  • Build a college resume


ALP Delivers:

  • Multi-day wilderness adventures and social events throughout the year
  • Leadership instruction and hands-on practice in diverse peer groups
  • Disability and cultural awareness training
     

There are three levels of ALP, beginner, intermediate and advanced.  In keeping with a theme of mountaineering, we call these levels Base Camp, Vista, and Summit. Click here for more information on ALP levels.