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HYSB Wilderness Club
For Young Men Grades 6 to 12
Looking for Adventure?
Want to join a team and explore the Great Outdoors?
If so, sign up now with the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau’s Wilderness Club. Call 860-824-4720 or email HYSB to learn about upcoming events.

- Backpacking
- Camping
- Canoeing
- Caving
- Hiking
- Map & Compass/Orienteering
- Native American Sweat Lodge
- Rock Climbing
- Survival Skills
- Wilderness Camping
Wilderness Club meets monthly — all day on Saturdays and/or full weekend campouts.
Lead instructor Ed Thorney is a veteran outdoor educator, rites-of-passage guide and adventure-based counselor. Ed has instructed courses for the State of Connecticut’s Wilderness School, Outward Bound and The Wilderness Education Association.
Additional adult volunteers ensure safety and supervision.
Among the benefits of the program are:

- Enhanced self-esteem
- Acceptance of responsibility
- Decision-making skills
- Increased respect for self & others
- Physical exercise
- Positive adult male role models
Explains lead instructor Ed Thorney, "Each event leaves me feeling invigorated and excited about what we are doing. I truly believe this model—involving kids, young adults and adults—is worth repeating. It simply creates more opportunity for positive interaction. The program provides participants with a feeling of belonging, responsibility to self and group, and a sense of pride."


