[0:17] - 3, 2, 1.

[0:20] Cut.

[0:21] (Crowd cheering)

[0:22] Wilderness Inquiry is a 47-year-old

nonprofit organization,

[0:25] and our mission is to

connect people of all ages,

[0:28] backgrounds, abilities, and

identities to the health

[0:31] and wellness benefits of the outdoors.

[0:33] Since 1978, when we were

first founded, started working

[0:36] with people experiencing

disability.

[0:38] Over time, about the last 20 years

[0:40] or so, we've also worked with

America's youth who have,

[0:43] for one reason or another,

experienced barriers

[0:45] to getting outdoors and

[0:47] and being connected to the natural world.

[0:49] - We offer multiple types of trips.

[0:50] We offer extended trips

where typically three

[0:53] or five day overnight trips

can even go up longer,

[0:56] up to 14 days.

[0:57] We also have our day and youth trips,

[0:58] which typically are one day

trips out on local waterways

[1:02] or at local schools.

[1:03] So, when participants book through us,

[1:05] we don't wanna add extra

financial burden on them.

[1:07] So we provide everything from

sleeping bags, sleeping pads,

[1:10] to boots, to coats, to gloves,

[1:12] anything anyone could possibly

need to explore the outdoors.

[1:15] We are very welcoming.

[1:16] We have staff from all different

backgrounds and abilities

[1:19] and identities who are there

[1:21] to support you throughout the

entire duration of your trip,

[1:23] even to get you out on your

first hiking trip all the way up

[1:26] to going on a five day

boundary water expedition trip.

[1:30] - I didn't know how to take my daughter

[1:33] with a disability into the wilderness.

[1:34] I was stumped. And so I called Greg Lais,

[1:38] who started this a long time ago,

[1:41] and a month later we went on a trip into

[1:44] the White Otter Wilderness in Ontario.

[1:47] And after that went on four more trips.

[1:51] - We are just thrilled to be

here in Bloomington, Minnesota.

[1:54] It is a community that is

[1:56] so robust in its multicultural vibe,

[1:59] which is just really wonderful

[2:00] for the audiences that we serve.

[2:02] It's also just a amazing

location that's really close

[2:05] to the airport, as well as hundreds

[2:07] of programming locations we

have throughout the whole Twin

[2:10] Cities metropolitan area.

[2:12] So this has just been many

years that we've been looking

[2:15] for a new home and headquarters

for Wilderness Inquiry.

[2:18] - Wilderness Inquiry really

has some very unique needs.

[2:21] When we were looking

for a space. Of course,

[2:23] we have office staff that do

all the behind the scenes work

[2:26] that help make these adventures possible.

[2:28] So we really needed

about 10,000 square feet

[2:31] of office space,

[2:32] but our operation also

requires an enormous

[2:35] amount of infrastructure.

[2:36] We have these big 20 foot canoes

[2:38] that we take whole classrooms

of students out in.

[2:41] We call 'em our floating classrooms.

[2:42] We really needed an outdoor

space that had plenty

[2:44] of parking, as well as a

turning radius that we could use

[2:47] to move our rigs around.

[2:48] And with this great new space,

[2:49] we also have a commercial

kitchen, which allows us

[2:51] to have a lot of volunteer

opportunities here

[2:54] to help prepare food for our trips.

[2:56] So we looked long and

hard for about five years

[2:59] and found this gem

[3:00] of a property here in

Bloomington in this very vibrant

[3:03] neighborhood that just really

fit the bill perfectly.

[3:06] - You know, when we have been

looking at the strategic plan

[3:09] for the Port Authority, one

of the things that we realized

[3:12] is we've done a lot

for the big businesses,

[3:14] things like the Mall and

Bloomington Central Station

[3:18] and things, but we really

didn't have the facility

[3:21] or focus on handling

the, the needs of a lot

[3:23] of smaller companies and things coming in.

[3:26] And we really, I think,

[3:27] have made an effort in the

last couple years to emphasize

[3:30] that and say, we want you here.

[3:32] This facade improvement

program isn't a lot of money,

[3:35] but I think it's something

that can help people, tell them

[3:38] we're interested that we

want to do these things.

[3:39] So overall, I'm very pleased.

[3:42] - The City of Bloomington, the

Port Authority, the Chamber

[3:45] of Commerce, have all been

so incredibly supportive

[3:49] of Wilderness Inquiry's

move to this new home.

[3:52] Even the planning department

has been super helpful with

[3:54] helping us really

tailor this new facility

[3:57] to meet our specific needs.

[3:59] And so we're just really

very grateful to the city

[4:01] of Bloomington for all they've done

[4:02] to make this such a welcoming

place for us to land.

[4:05] - The world has never needed

Wilderness Inquiry more

[4:08] than we need it right now.

[4:10] So that's why I'm here. I'll

do anything I can physically

[4:13] or mentally do to ensure that

Wilderness Inquiry lives way

[4:18] beyond me.

[4:20] - The best way for people to

find more information about

[4:22] Wilderness Inquiry is to go on our

[4:24] website at wildernessinquiry.org

[4:26] and you can explore all the

different opportunities we have

[4:28] either for volunteering,

donating, or traveling with us.