A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching.
River Jim Learning Solutions is an outdoor program in Northern California (Glenn & Butte Counties) that specializes in taking Middle & High School aged youth on canoe/camping trips to foster relationships between the kids, their teachers, mentors and fellow students.
​
Play improves the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and young people. Through play, children learn about the world and themselves.
They also learn skills they need for study, work and relationships such as:
~confidence
~self-esteem & social skills
~resilience
~interaction & independence
~curiosity
~coping with challenging situations
​
River Jim has been taking kids out into the outdoors for over a decade to various semi-wilderness lakes and forests to Play and create relationships.
River Jim provides all of the safety, paddling and camping equipment for the participants. Campers need only bring their personal clothing items - we take care of the rest! We also provide all nutritious meals, snacks and beverages for the participants.
​
​
The River Jim Story
The Mission of River Jim is to improve students' academic and life trajectories through outdoor experiences.
In the early 2000s, Bill Shively, founder and Executive Director of River Jim Learning Solutions found that he was having difficulty creating a rapport with some of his students at Willows Intermediate School in Willows, CA. By this point, he had been an educator for nearly 20 years and was finding some of the educational methods lacking in creating engagement and relationships with students. Having been a Boy Scout Master and Guide -and being an Eagle Scout himself - Bill knew that he may be able to connect more with his students if he were able to take his students outside to camp, canoe, and connect with Nature and with each other.
Bill won the support of his school administration and partnered with some youth groups in the area. These ideas and connections became River Jim Learning Solutions. Since 2011, Bill, his team members and fellow educators have taken over 100 Middle School kids on over 40 trips to local camping and lake paddling trips.
Bill knew that "magic" happened when young people were able to Play and explore in the out of doors; and, he was inspired to pursue a Master of Education at California State University, Chico in order to research and document the quantifiable data to support his experiences. His Master's Thesis, "The kid in the canoe: finding attachment in a test-taking world" explored the need for kids to create relationships in order to become more resilient and higher functioning in the world around them.
​
​
Demonstrated by experience,
proven by science
"The object of all human life is play".
G.K. Chesterton
We would love to learn more about your Youth or Company Group and how River Jim can facilitate building better relationships within your group and community!
(530) 518-0509
