Empowering Baltimore underserved youth by utilizing the natural world to inspire, strengthen, and build knowledge.
What We Do
Founded in 2022, Wilderness Individual Leadership & Development (WILD) is a nonprofit organization providing Baltimore underserved youth and young adults an experiential education program, focused on engaging outdoor activities, leadership skills and environmental education. Our 14–20-year-old participants are encouraged to take healthy risks and experience new outdoor activities including hiking, camping, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, canyoneering and stargazing. WILD partners directly with Baltimore city public, charter and parochial schools, and their staff, to recruit students to the program. The students participate in regional Baltimore area organized outings, and each summer they travel to Torrey, Utah and spend 7-9 days engaging in outdoor activities in and around Capitol Reef National Park, while also learning about environmental science, geology, biology, archaeology and ecology.
Sharing Stories
“One word I would use to describe this experience is ‘strength’…when we hiked, I found strength that I did not know I had, especially when things got really hard.”
— WILD PARTICIPANT
