The Highs and Lows of Bringing A Passion Back Home

Alanna Wacome | Skowhegan AmeriCorps Outdoor Recreation Coach

"Grants to help Main Street Skowhegan get residents outdoors" This is the headline that changed my life. 

I had just headed back to school for my final semester of college when my mom sends me a text saying, "hey check out this opportunity!" I immediately contacted Kristina Cannon, director of Main Street Skowhegan, worried that they had already filled the positions. Fast forward 5 months and I had become one of the three AmeriCorps outdoor recreation community coaches. 

The journey as a community coach has changed the way I view my town as a whole and my entire way thinking. My first year of college I went to a community-based school, Unity college, where I learned the importance of having a sense of community in your life. Heading off to my second school, this concept really hit hard. I went to a larger college where I found it hard to find my place, but eventually I found my community in the outdoor recreation realm. Over the next 3 years I learned many new skills like whitewater kayaking and rock climbing. I made many new friends, all of which were involved in outdoor recreation. I was fortunate to make these connections and learn these new skills. 

When I was about to graduate, I wanted nothing to do with coming back to Skowhegan. In my eyes Skowhegan had no chance of becoming and outdoor recreation town. I loved my hometown dearly, but I wanted exciting outdoor recreation opportunities. But then I found the position as an outdoor recreation coach. 

Heading to my first day as an "official" outdoor recreation community coach I was glowing with excitement. Fresh college graduate just landed her first job out of school in the field of her passions, outdoor recreation. I was excited to lead free activities for our community members. I was excited to share my experiences and knowledge with others to help make my hometown more outdoor recreation oriented. 

Within the first few days I met my co-workers and we began making out first schedule; tail hikes, canoe clinics, yoga in the park, and all free! Everyone was going to show up right?

Wrong.

We held our first community activity, and no one came... Over the course of the summer we had 1 or two people show up to a few of our activities and clinics. The first few months were slow, and our enthusiasm was dropping. We started to think, maybe no one in this town is interested or ever will be.  I wanted so dearly to have people participating in our activities though. I wanted this to work for my community, so we began to brainstorm. Our group began to talk about ways we could get the word out and we generated a new communication plan. 

October rolled around and it was finally foliage season. We had just begun our new communication and advertising methods and the first activity of the month was approaching, a fall foliage hike. On the first Saturday of the month I drove to the hike expecting to turn right back around having no participation. I arrived at the trail head and there were cars, lots of them. I got out of my car and asked the people if they were there for the hike, and all 10 were there to do just that.

Over our last couple of months, we have seen an increase in participation. Most of our programs run having at least 5 people participating. This was the eye-opening experience for me as a coach. 

Building an outdoor program has been a hard journey but a rewarding one, and it's not finished by any means. We all can become very discouraged having no participation. As a community coach, though, I have realized that you can't give up. People aren't just going to show up, especially if they don't know it exists. As a community coach you have to work hard, be creative, and figure out what the community is most interested in for events. People have busy lives and want to go to something that is worth their time.

Working with other local organizations has been a strong suit for us as well. We began an outing club at the middle school and we get to take kids outside and introduce them to new outdoor skills once a week. This outing club wouldn't exist if we weren't there and we've heard from many kids that this is their favorite activity offered. This program alone to me is rewarding enough to call our efforts successful. 

I have always enjoyed guiding and teaching outdoor skills to others. Being able to teach others in the very community that raised me is rewarding on another level. I was able to learn a lot of new skills while off at college and having the ability to pass down the experiences and opportunities I was given, gives me my own personal sense of accomplishment. There can be a lot of barriers to entry for outdoor recreation and it takes community members willing to donate their time to help break these barriers. No one in the outdoor recreation community would say we have too many people doing these sports. We are a comparatively small community and we all want more people participating with us. Outdoor oriented communities don't spawn out of thin air, it takes time, commitment, and mentorship.

Being a coach has connected me more deeply to the community that raised me. My experiences as a community coach have opened my eyes to the possibilities that our town can have. I once had a plan to run far away, but being a community coach has given me the way to stay long term. We have huge outdoor recreation opportunities available everywhere and I believe Skowhegan isn't the only town like this. Many people of my generation are moving because there "isn't anything to do here," but there is. Sometimes you have to put yourself out there and be the change you want to happen.