OUR STORY

A Seed is Planted

In 2017 a small group of like-minded folks, including Marcia, Trent and Jenn, came together to draft a plan and piloted Through the Trees (TTT) under the umbrella of an existing non-profit in Topsham, Maine. TTT started small with some summer camps, after school program and a very small homeschool group, all with time indoors and outdoors. 

Taking Root

In 2019 Kendall joined the team, and we began to realize that nature immersion was truly our "jam." In our offerings we honed in on our passions, offering more wilderness skills, mindfulness and self-directed play. In 2020, the four Founders - Marcia, Trent, Jenn and Kendall - formed our own 501(c)3 non-profit and moved to our current Freeport location on Griffin Farm, 58 beautiful acres of rolling woodland, field, pond and Frost Gully Brook - land that has been in Trent's family for generations and was put into conservation easement in the 1980s and managed by Freeport Conservation Trust. We became Registered Maine Guides and launched our first 9-month Homeschool Nature Immersion Program - now solely outdoors. We were even able to pay our small group of staff (six of us!) for the first time. 

Branching Out

Over the next few years, we experienced tremendous demand and growth. We added Teen/Preteen Outing Clubs & Wilderness Trips and monthly Family Classes, created some adult offerings, more than doubled staff and homeschool participants, began holding annual fundraising events, such as our GLOW Jack O'Lantern Walk, and gratefully started acquiring much-needed business and individual sponsorships. Most recently we've added Program and Administrative Managers, while working to improve & expand Youth Nature Immersion programs to serve ages 18 months to 17 years, maintaining our focus areas in mindfulness, self-directed learning and wilderness skills. We have an amazing team and are grateful to be doing what we are doing at TTT!