Adventurers to Spend a Year in the Wilderness to Stop Mining

Remember Dave and Amy Freeman? They're the couple that were named National Geographic Adventurers of the Year back in 2014 for their 11,000+ mile (17,700 km) journey across North America, during which they established the Wilderness Classroom as a way to use adventure to help educate kids. Last year they also took a paddling trip to Washington, D.C. as a way to raise awareness of the threat of sulfide mining to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. Those efforts did not go unnoticed, but the threat remains very real. So now the husband and wife adventure team are planning to take yet another step in their campaign to protect the area they love, but this time they'll be spending a whole year in the wilderness to draw attention to the cause.

Starting on September 23 of this year, and running until September 22 of 2016, Dave and Amy will embark on a 365-day adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. During that time, they'll travel by canoe, snowshoe, and dogsled as they explore more than 500 lakes and streams that are threatened by sulfide-ore mining that is taking place on the edge of these protected lands, as well as Voyageurs National Park.

Dave and Amy hope to save the Boundary Waters by putting an end to mining operations there. Those mines sit on private lands just off the protected areas, but still threaten to have a harmful effect on the environment. This is an area that the couple knows well, and has fallen in love with, so they have made it their mission to protect it from this challenges.

The start of their year-long adventure is still two months away, but the duo is busy preparing for the challenges ahead. Once underway, you'll be able to read updates on their journey at SaveTheBoundaryWaters.org.

Video: Mile for Mile - Trail Running to Support Conservation in Patagonia

We all know that Patagonia is one of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet. It is also one that is becoming increasingly threatened. That's why the team at Conservacion Patagonica have been working hard to create a national park in southern Chile to protect this wild and rugged place. The video below is entitled Mile for Mile, and follows three trail runners – Krissy Moehl, Jeff Browning, and Luke Nelson – as they embark on a 106 mile (170.5 km) run across what will eventually be that national park. Along the way they get to experience Patagonia in all of its glory, and it viewers get the opportunity to understand what makes the place so special.

As the park nears completion, there are still about 50 miles (80 km) of trail that needs to be built. To help with that effort, the gear company Patagonia is matching all funds donated to the cause through the end of the year. They also sponsored the creation of this short film, which considering the ties that the company has with the region is completely understandable. Find out more about the film, and the effort to create the trails in the park, at the official Mile for Mile campaign website.

Video: 50 Great Things About Northwest Rivers From a Kid's Perspective

A few days back American Rivers, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the waterways of the U.S., released this great video. It features a young man by the name of Parker who shares his 50 favorite things about the rivers of the Northwest. It is filled with fun images that I'm sure many of us can relate to, and for some of us the outdoors still make us feel like children from time to time. That is a special feeling indeed.