2025 National Park Teen Ambassador Program
Teen Ambassadors Build Connections at Voyageurs National Park
This summer, Indigenous youth from across northern Minnesota gathered at Voyageurs National Park for an unforgettable outdoor adventure through Voyageurs Conservancy’s Teen Ambassador Program. This program is designed to connect young people with the history, culture, and ecology of Voyageurs while fostering leadership, outdoor skills, and career pathways in conservation.
The group’s journey began on the waters of Lake Kabetogama. With canoes loaded, the teens paddled to their home for the next few days — a large group campsite with a sweeping view of the lake and open skies. For many, this was their first time experiencing the park, and the trip quickly became a place of both challenge and discovery.
Each four-night trip was built around opportunities for connection — with the land, with each other, and with Indigenous elders and educators. On designated “Elder Days,” community members from the Bois Forte and Fond du Lac communities shared their knowledge of tribal history, traditional crafts, and the deep cultural ties that connect Indigenous peoples to this region. Together, they took boat tours across Voyageurs’ island-dotted waters, where they spotted loons dancing, a massive double-decker eagle’s nest, and the kind of expansive beauty that inspires awe.
The camp curriculum also introduced youth to new ways of seeing the park. At night, participants gazed up at the Milky Way in one of the world’s designated Dark Sky Parks, learning to identify constellations with NASA Ambassador and Education Specialist Jesse Gates. During the day, the teens met with National Park Service staff to explore what careers in conservation and outdoor leadership look like, planting seeds for future opportunities. Wilderness Inquiry leaders guided the group in paddling techniques, backcountry cooking, and Leave No Trace practices, giving the teens confidence in their outdoor abilities.
Of course, no camping trip would be complete without its challenges. Rain showers, persistent mosquitoes, and the realities of living outdoors tested the group’s resilience — but also became opportunities to bond and laugh together. By the end of the week, the hardships had given way to moments of joy: landing a big fish, picking blueberries, sharing meals around the campfire, and watching sunsets across the horizon.
One teen shared, “I felt like I could really be myself.” Another reflected simply, “I was so grateful to be there.”
The Teen Ambassador Program is more than just a summer camping trip. It is an investment in the next generation — building leadership, pride, and cultural connection while helping young people envision themselves as future caretakers of our shared public lands. For Voyageurs National Park, and for the communities that have stewarded this land for generations, these experiences strengthen the bonds between people and place in ways that will last far beyond a single summer.
Funding for this project was provided in part by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.
This program was made possible by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support of partners including Union Pacific Railroad and donors across the country.
