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Northland College and Wilderness Inquiry establish cooperative alliance

February 10, 2011

Northland College and Wilderness Inquiry are celebrating a new cooperative alliance that strengthens the outlook of environmental education. The agreement, signed at Wilderness Inquiry’s Minneapolis headquarters by Northland College President Michael A. Miller and Wilderness Inquiry Executive Director Greg Lais, outlines a dynamic partnership that will ensure new opportunities for students and educators across the upper Midwest.

“Wilderness Inquiry has been a leader in environmental and outdoor education for many years,” says President Miller. “We are proud to partner with an organization whose values are so closely aligned with our own.”

The agreement emphasizes collaboration between the two organizations, encouraging the development of joint programming for the region’s youth, the cross promotion of existing educational opportunities and the development of adaptive equipment to enable individuals with physical limitations to explore previously inaccessible wilderness areas.

“We've been hiring Northland College graduates for years, and we are very excited about the promise and potential of our partnership,” says Lais. “We work with thousands of youth in the outdoors, and every one of them should know about Northland as an option, especially if they are interested in the environment.”

Following the signing, Lais was joined by former Northland student and current WI staff member Hilary Bulger to present President Miller with a miniature birch bark canoe, a traditional method of transportation developed by Native Americans and used extensively by both Native communities and fur-traders in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Wilderness Inquiry is a leading organization in outdoor education, leadership, adventure and inclusion training whose mission is to provide outdoor experience to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Founded in 1978, the organization conducts over 250 events each year, serving more than 9,000 people annually.