October Newsletter: Meet the Wilderness Ranger Empowering Coombs Kids
As another summer comes to a close, it’s a great time to appreciate our partners and sponsors who make our programs such a success. Chelsea Phillippe, a Wilderness Ranger with the Bridger-Teton National Forest, has played a huge role in our summer programs, hiking with Coombs kids and helping foster their confidence in the outdoors. “The Forest Service is literally in their backyard,” she said. “I love working with the kids to help them build the tools to get out there and appreciate it.”
Growing up in Nebraska, Chelsea didn’t get to spend much time on public land. “Where I grew up, I saw ‘Private Property’ signs, not ‘Enjoy your Public Land’ signs,” she said. After college, Chelsea worked as a raft guide in Moab, guiding clients on multi-day trips down the Colorado, Green, and Dolores Rivers. “Watching guests gradually get more comfortable in the outdoors and develop a love affair for nature was really powerful. It was really special to get to share that with them,” she said. It was on the river that Chelsea discovered her love for helping others enjoy the power of the outdoors and set her on a path to becoming a Wilderness Ranger for the National Forest Service.
“It’s amazing to see them trusting themselves more and more and learning that they can go places on their own”
Most of the summer, Chelsea is deep in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, managing backcountry campsites or working with trail crews. This summer, she's invested over 70 hours with Coombs Outdoors, joining Forest Friends and the Be REAL mentoring group on hikes and evening workshops. She’s worked with the mentoring kids on Leave No Trace practices, navigation skills, and helped them prepare for their first ever backpacking trip this summer. “It’s amazing to see them trusting themselves more and more and learning that they can go places on their own”
Over the past two summers, Chelsea has watched Coombs kids get more and more comfortable outside. “We’ll be out hiking and they’ll jump in the creek and get soaking wet and muddy and then they just put their shoes on and keep walking - it’s awesome that they don’t even care.”
Support from the Forest Service has played a huge role in allowing Chelsea to allocate so much of her time to Coombs programs. “Usually rangers don’t get to focus so much on education, but it’s a huge priority for the Forest Service to work with underserved youth. It’s amazing how dedicated the organization is on a national level to prioritize all of our users.”
