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: Climate Change and the Prospects of an Optimistic Future

I'll end the week with this video, which features not only a series of stunning shots from a variety of locations around the globe, but climate scientist Richard Muller of the Berkeley Earth Foundation discussing the impact of climate change, and his hopes for a better planet. Amidst all the doom and gloom about the future of Earth, there are some who believe that we can still make a positive impact
on our world that can result in major improvements for those living on it. That is a powerful message that we don't always hear, but it is an important one to consider none the less.

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.