Impact & Reach

Big Discoveries. Lasting Impact.

 

A Quick Review of 2025

 

Face-to-Face Hours

  • 2025 = 33,666 total face-to-face hours
  • 30% of all hours spent in rural communities
  • 3,921 hrs with Indigenous Youth
  • 984 hrs in All-Girls Programs
  • 401 hrs with Teachers
  • 81% of all hours = 26,435 hours spent on campus
 

Land Camps

Over the past 4 years, DE has run 6 land camps spanning 23 days, during which Indigenous students had the opportunity to learn from the land.

 

Camp Hours

  • 24,371 hours spent in a multi-day camp
  • 2,277 hrs offered off-campus and barrier-free
  • 2,082 hrs with Indigenous audiences

Employment Opportunities

  • Employed 8 high school interns
  • 22 undergraduate instructors
  • 6 full-time staff
 

TLC Workshops

  • 312 TLC workshops were delivered both on campus and in schools and community spaces, serving almost 6,000 students
  • Looking at 2026, we are already seeing significant growth. One of our Coordinators noted that they ran 38 workshops and a 3-day land camp in March 2026 alone!
 

Geographic Region

In 2025, the DE team worked with youth from 16 Indigenous or rural communities, including Fort MacLeod, Enchant, Anzac, Brooks, Fort McKay, Coalhurst, Fort McMurray, Piikani Nation, Coaldale, Kainai Nation, Raymond, and Taber.

 

 

Finding Confidence Through STEM

 

Oliver

As a camper, Oliver discovered something that changed how he saw himself: he was capable of far more than he had imagined. After hearing messages like “math isn’t for everyone” in school, he began to question his own abilities. At Destination Exploration, he found an environment where he could explore, experiment and discover that he was smart, capable and full of potential.

Since then, Oliver has grown from camper to high school intern to instructor, building confidence and learning something new every day. As an instructor, he has the opportunity to be a positive male role model for young people and inspire them to believe in themselves. He considers it an honour when campers choose to spend time with him, a reminder of the meaningful connections that make this work so rewarding.

Oliver has also discovered the often-overlooked connections between fine arts and STEM. Through theatre, creativity and a little silliness, he shows young people that they can love the arts, embrace science and be unapologetically themselves. For Oliver, DE is more than a place to learn. It is a place where young people can discover their abilities, build confidence and see new possibilities for who they can become.

 

Discovering a Passion for Learning and Teaching

Elora’s journey with Destination Exploration began as a young camper and has grown into a lasting connection with the program. From volunteering to becoming a high school intern and now an instructor, DE has been a place where she has discovered her strengths, explored her passions and grown in confidence, both in STEM and as a person.

 

One of her favourite memories is a week spent building and programming a robot at summer camp. After days of hard work, the final demonstration did not go quite as planned, and one robot broke in half. Yet Elora remembers less the setback than the pride she felt in creating something almost entirely from scratch. Thanks to instructors who encouraged her to take risks and try something new, she learned that an experience’s value isn't always measured by the final result. Sometimes, the greatest achievement is discovering what you are capable of doing.

 

When Elora aged out of youth programming, she knew she wanted to stay involved. Through volunteering and working as an intern, she discovered a passion for teaching. She developed skills in classroom leadership, working with children, sharing her enthusiasm for STEM, and so much more. DE also helped her navigate moments of self-doubt and build the confidence to keep moving forward.

 

Today, Elora is studying Early Years Education at the University of Lethbridge and brings her experiences full circle as a DE instructor. 

Elora