The Tourism, Hospitality, and Outdoor Recreation (THOR) Institute in the University of Maine System has been awarded a grant to provide new outdoor gear for both student and public use at the Maine Bound Adventure Center (MBAC).
Grant funding will enable a full upgrade of the MBAC’s rental fleet, including new canoes, kayaks, skis, snowshoes, sleeping bags, backpacks, camping gear, new wetsuits and cold-water paddling equipment. The project also supported the hiring of additional student and temporary staff to manage gear organization and inventory, ensuring smoother operations and improved service for all users.
“Thanks to this project, we are now able to offer students and community members access to a wider range of outdoor equipment across multiple seasons,” said Beth Jackson, Assistant Director of Maine Bound Adventure Center. “We’re especially excited to expand our inventory of kids’ equipment.”
The Maine Bound Gear Library serves the University of Maine campus community and the public.
The project also strengthened collaboration between Maine Bound and the THOR Institute, a collaboration of faculty across all of the universities in the University of Maine System.
Expanding access to the outdoors is central to the mission of the both the THOR Institute and Maine Bound Adventure Center — and vital to strengthening Maine’s outdoor economy, according to Emily Zider, the Program Manager at the THOR Institute.
Through this partnership, THOR Fellows—students working with community partners to advance Maine’s outdoor industry—will support continued Gear Library development. Maine Bound’s engagement in statewide initiatives has also grown, including participation in a Maine Outdoor Brands (MOB) event, joining the Maine Gear Library Network, and an upcoming highlight in Green & Healthy Maine magazine.
According to Jackson, this grant will make it possible to introduce new items over the next three seasons to supply groups and individuals with everything they need for a variety of outdoor adventures. This initiative has also inspired updates to their decades-old rental program, which, with the help of their student staff team, will lead to new internal and external systems that will streamline rental processes.
“We’re grateful to have been a recipient of the CORA Grant, and we look forward to helping all users of our library spend time outside,” said Jackson.
*With support from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Grant Program and in collaboration with the THOR Institute, this initiative is supported by the CORA (Community Outdoor Recreation Assistance) Grant in partnership with Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation, funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The THOR Institute
The THOR Institute is a collaboration across the University of Maine System to strengthen education and training pathways to bolster Maine’s largest industries, serving as a coordinator and point of contact among UMS and the tourism, hospitality and outdoor recreation economies. Participating campuses are the University of Maine at Augusta, the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine (Orono), the University of Maine at Machias, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the University of Southern Maine. To learn more, visit maine.edu/THOR
Maine Bound Adventure Center
Maine Bound is the Adventure Center located on the University of Maine (UMaine), Orono campus. It operates as a co-curricular outdoor program that manages an established gear and rentals program, recently being rebranded as the Maine Bound Gear Library.
The center serves a broad audience, including students, staff, faculty, organizations, community members, and visitors to the region. Its core function is to increase access to outdoor gear and support recreation tourism in Maine by offering a wide range of gear types and sizes for use in popular areas like Acadia, Baxter State Park, and the Allagash & Penobscot rivers. The program is primarily staffed by undergraduate students, who gain experience in gear management and the outdoor economy workforce.