NORWAY — In response to COVID-19-driven increases in food insecurity and interest in outdoor recreation, the Maine West Initiative is challenging people across the Oxford Hills, greater Bethel and the River Valley areas to earn cash rewards for local food pantries by completing 300 outdoor adventures.

People can now sign up for the Second Nature Adventure Challenge and start tracking trail-based hikes, walks, bike rides and paddle trips on Maine Trail Finder, a website that connects people to trails across the state. If challenge participants complete and log 300 activities all together by Oct. 12, Maine West will contribute $3,000 to help reduce hunger, which has increased during the pandemic.

“The Second Nature Adventure Challenge is a great win/win opportunity for participants to benefit from healthy activities while also helping to reduce hunger in the Maine West area,” said Brendan Schauffler, facilitator of the Oxford County Wellness Collaborative and program coordinator for the challenge.

Three Second Nature Adventure Challenge beneficiaries will each receive $1,000 contributions if participants reach the goal. This year’s beneficiaries include Bethel Food Pantry, Bethel; Agnes Gray Elementary School Food Pantry, West Paris; and Servant’s Heart Food Pantry, Peru.

“All levels of outdoor recreation count toward the community challenge goal,” said Mike Wilson, senior program director for the Northern Forest Center and coordinator of the Maine West Initiative. “Whether it’s a walk on a paved river path, a mountain hike, a bike ride or a paddle, it’s being out in nature and on the trail that counts – no matter how fast or how far you go.”

Signing up is free and easy. Visit www.secondnaturemaine.com to get started.

The challenge is a project of Maine West (www.mainewest.org) — a partnership of local and regional organizations working to enhance community well being in western Maine through increased collaboration across the economic, education, health and conservation sectors.

Maine West works across the Oxford Hills, River Valley and Bethel-Mahoosuc areas of northern Oxford County to provide network-based, collaborative programming in three focal areas: Active Communities, Broadband Access and Adoption, and Educational Attainment and Aspirations.

In the past several months, Maine West has helped schools and families respond to the COVID-19 crisis by donating to food pantries and school meal programs and providing 200 mobile hot spots to allow students with no home internet access to connect to online learning.