Purpose

The bill aims to fund outdoor education and cultural heritage programs by providing money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The goal is to expand Wilderness Inquiry’s programs to reach youth and families across the state, help them connect with natural resources, outdoor traditions, and public lands and waterways, and align these experiences with Minnesota graduation standards and the state’s cultural heritage.

Main Provisions

• Appropriates 675,000 in fiscal year 2026 and 729,000 in fiscal year 2027 from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
• Provides a grant to Wilderness Inquiry, administered through the commissioner of administration.
• Supports the Canoemobile program and the Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement.
• Aims to create a statewide progression of outdoor educational and recreational experiences.
• Seeks to tie outdoor education to Minnesota graduation standards and to Minnesota’s rich cultural heritage by connecting youth and families to natural resources, outdoor traditions, and public lands and waterways.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Establishes new or expanded funding for outdoor education programs by directing Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund money to Wilderness Inquiry.
• Creates or strengthens a grant mechanism for Wilderness Inquiry’s Canoemobile and Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement programs.
• Explicitly links outdoor education to school standards and cultural heritage, reinforcing the role of outdoor programs in youth development across Minnesota.

Relevant Terms

• Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund
• Wilderness Inquiry
• Canoemobile program
• Pyramid of Outdoor Engagement
• outdoor educational and recreational experiences
• Minnesota graduation standards
• Minnesota’s cultural heritage
• public lands and waterways
• commissioner of administration
• fiscal year 2026 (FY2026)
• fiscal year 2027 (FY2027)