The Science Behind Hearty Roots

The Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) tracks the mental health, substance use, relationships, and well-being of Maine students—and it also tells us something hopeful:

The things that help young people thrive are not a mystery.

Young people do better when they have caring adults in their lives, feel connected to their communities, have a sense of belonging, and have places where they feel supported and valued. These are the protective factors MIYHS measures alongside the challenges young people face.

That is where we choose to start.Not when a young person is in crisis. Earlier.

We believe in swimming upstream—building relationships and experiences that strengthen young people before they need fixing. And we believe we can get back to some pretty simple things that matter a lot: People. Belonging. Challenge. Play. Time outside.

More Than a Summer Camp

Hearty Roots may look like camp from the outside. Kids are outside. They're paddling, hiking, climbing, laughing, getting dirty, trying new things, and occasionally wondering why they agreed to hike up that hill.

But the activities aren't really the point. The relationships are. A day on the water becomes a chance to build confidence. A hard hike becomes an opportunity to practice perseverance. A shared meal becomes a place to belong. A campfire becomes a space to talk. A trusted adult becomes someone a young person knows they can count on. We use outdoor experiences because they create a natural setting for young people to practice being human—with other people, with themselves, and with the world around them.

That is what makes Hearty Roots different.

What Helps Young People Thrive?

Researchers have increasingly asked a question that matters to us: What helps kids do well—not just what puts them at risk?

Positive Childhood Experiences, or PCEs, are the relationships, environments, and experiences that help young people feel safe, supported, connected, and like they belong. Research has found that people who report more positive childhood experiences are more likely to have better mental and relational health as adults—even when they have also experienced adversity.

A caring adult matters. Being part of a community matters. Having people who believe in you matters. Having places where you can contribute, explore, and be yourself matters.

So we build more of those experiences. Not because we think childhood should be perfect. It won't be. But because young people need more than protection from what can go wrong. They need experiences that help them grow strong enough to meet what comes next.

Start Early

We don't want to wait until something is wrong to ask what a young person needs. Early support doesn't have to mean therapy or another program focused on a problem. Sometimes it looks much simpler. It's an adult who knows your name. A place where you belong. A chance to try something hard. Someone who notices when you're having a tough day. Time outside without a screen. A group that becomes your people. A place you can come back to.

These everyday experiences can build the relationships, confidence, connection, and skills that help young people navigate challenges. That's prevention to us.

Lead with compassion. Build connection. Create belonging. Give kids room to grow.

Why Outside?

We could do youth development almost anywhere. We choose the outdoors.

Research increasingly connects time in nature with children's physical, cognitive, emotional, and mental well-being, including benefits related to stress, mood, attention, physical activity, and social-emotional health. The evidence is promising, while researchers continue to study exactly how and for whom these benefits occur.

But we don't need research to convince us that being outside matters. We see it. Kids move differently outside. They talk differently. They take risks. They get curious. They solve problems. They notice things. They have room to breathe.

And when young people spend enough time in a place to know its trails, tides, trees, rocks, and seasons, something else can happen: The outdoors starts to feel like home.

People Matter

The setting matters. The experiences matter. But ultimately, people change people.

Research on youth mentoring consistently points to the importance of caring, supportive relationships with adults. Positive relationships can support social-emotional development, academic engagement, and other areas of young people's lives.

That's why our staff aren't just instructors. They're mentors. They notice. They listen. They encourage. They challenge. They remember. And they come back.

We want every young person to have the experience of thinking:

Someone knows me here. I belong here. Someone believes in me. I can do hard things.

That is the kind of relationship that can stay with a young person long after the program ends.

Whole-Person Development

Young people are becoming themselves all the time. They're learning how to manage emotions, navigate relationships, make decisions, solve problems, communicate, recover from setbacks, and figure out what they care about.

Research on social and emotional learning shows that these skills are connected to positive outcomes in school, relationships, behavior, and well-being. At Hearty Roots, we don't teach these skills from a worksheet.

We practice them. On the trail. On the water. Around the campfire. In a group. When the plan changes. When something goes wrong. When something goes right. We give young people real experiences and then make space to ask:

What happened? What did you notice? What did you learn? What will you take with you? That's whole-person development.

So Why Hearty Roots?

Because we don't believe young people should have to struggle alone. We can't prevent every hard thing that will happen in a young person's life. But we can help build the things that help them meet those hard things.

More caring adults. More belonging. More confidence. More meaningful challenges. More opportunities to reflect. More places to be known. More time outside.

We start early. We lead with compassion. We build relationships. We get back to what matters.