About
Wild Hearts Idaho is a non-profit that builds community, confidence, and leadership skills for middle and high school girls through free outdoor adventures. We aim to grow hearts for leadership through exploring Idaho's wild spaces.
Program Details
Wild Hearts Idaho was created from a simple yet powerful question: "How can we empower teen girls to be courageous and confident leaders?" By connecting with teen girls, parents, youth advocates, and community stakeholders, we learned that girls in Idaho yearn for outdoor adventures that ignite their inner confidence and foster leadership skills. Girls desire experiences that immerse them in nature, challenge their comfort zones, and empower them to emerge as leaders in their lives.
Research shows that adolescent girls face significant barriers to leadership development, self-confidence, and outdoor recreation; a 2019 Girls Index report by the non-profit Ruling Our Experiences (ROX) found that as girls enter adolescence, their confidence plummets by 30% and their fear of failure increases. Additionally, girls are less likely than boys to participate in outdoor recreation, limiting access to experiences that foster independence and resilience.
Wild Hearts Idaho addresses these gaps by providing a supportive environment where girls can develop leadership skills through the immersion of outdoor adventures across Idaho's wilderness. Since our founding in May 2016, we have steadily expanded our programming to meet increasing demand. In 2025, we aim to facilitate 20-25 adventures for teen girls and reach more participants across the Treasure Valley. We aim to bring 125 girls outside in 2025!
Services Offered
Outdoor adventures including but not limited to:
- Rock Climbing
- White Water Rafting
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Camping
- Stand Up Paddle Boarding
- Bikepacking
- Yoga
- Leadership Development
Contact Serena Rasmussen, Executive Director serena@wildheartsidaho.org (208) 243-9559 Wild Hearts Idaho
Populations Served
Wild Hearts Idaho serves teenage girls ages 12-18 in the Treasure Valley and surrounding rural areas. We prioritize participants who may face financial, social, or cultural barriers to accessing outdoor recreation; they also represent diverse backgrounds across the Treasure Valley, as our adventures are designed to be inclusive and welcoming to girls of all skill levels and outdoor experiences. In 2024, we provided outdoor adventure experiences for 93 individual participants through multi-day backpacking trips, river rafting, snowshoeing, rock climbing, and day hikes.
Cost to Participate
Free
Staff Composition
One full-time staff and one part-time staff.
Wild Hearts Idaho in the Media
Google Workspace
Watch: Idaho x Wild Hearts Idaho: Gemini in Google Docs
Wild Hearts Idaho
Watch: Gala Video
