MILWAUKEE — Hundreds of Milwaukee area students got out of their typical classroom and into one that floats.
The Canoemobile, also known as a “floating classroom,” is in Milwaukee this week. It’s offering a new experience to hundreds of students and a new view of the city.
Makailynn Hightower is an eighth grader at Glen Hills Middle School. Along with her classmates, this is her first time paddling on a canoe.
She said she wouldn’t have been out here if it weren’t for her teacher.
“She encouraged me to do it because I didn’t want to do it because I was scared that I would fall into the water,” said Hightower.
Hightower and her classmates paddled around Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee on Thursday.
“I think it was a good idea that I tried it because it seems really fun now,” said Hightower.
Erika Rivers is the executive director of Wilderness Inquiry, a nonprofit organization based in Minnesota. It takes the Canoemobile across the country to give students an easier to paddle their local waterways.
Rivers said it’s all about connecting them to their natural world.
“They have been near these water bodies all of their lives growing up but they have never had the opportunity to actually float on them and so we really find that we can build confidence in outdoor skills by just bringing kids out and having that first experience here in a nice safe team oriented opportunity,” said Rivers.
Jim Copeland is a Deputy Regional Forester for the U.S. Forest Service. He believes this moment will stay with them.
“It’s going to be an important aspect that they are going to reflect on over the course of their lives which is very imperative because our your people, they are stewards of our public lands and it is imperative that they have this opportunity to reconnect or just have that first connection,” he said.
It also offered Hightower a new perspective of Milwaukee.
“It’s way different because I usually don’t be over here that much and it looks really pretty,” said Hightower.
After her first paddling experience, Hightower said she would definitely be open to trying it again.
Wilderness Inquiry is also offering a free Canoemobile experience to the broader community from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Park in Glendale.