By Kyle Oblong
On a gray November afternoon, the Shuman Urban Wilderness Center opened its red doors for the first time.
On Friday, Nov. 6, more than 100 friends, families, students, educators, donors and builders gathered on the campus of Aiken New Tech High School in Cincinnati's College Hill neighborhood to open and dedicate the Center. It is the first permanent home for Urban Wilderness, which has brought boatbuilding and outdoor education to more than 18,000 students since 2013. Affectionately known as "The Shu," the Center was nine years in the making.
Opened the camp way
There was no ribbon and no giant scissors. As we do at camp, we opened the Center with the Law of the Woods.
After remarks from Cincinnati Public Schools Board Member Eve Bolton, Aiken leadership and Messer Construction, the Foundation presented a plaque to the Shuman family that will hang inside the Center. Then Aiken FFA students turned over the earth and planted a river birch in Robert's honor.
"Robert set out to conquer the wilderness and ended up becoming one with it," said Hugh Haller, president and CEO of the Camping & Education Foundation. "Starting now, every kid who walks through this door gets the chance to do the same."
A name worth carrying
The Center honors Robert Shuman (1992–2022), who arrived at Camp Kooch-i-ching at age 14 and spent 17 summers on Deer Island as a camper, trip head and department head. In 2015, he became the first and only person the Foundation has sponsored to paddle solo to the Arctic Ocean. Asked what he had learned above all else, Robert answered simply: "I learned that the world is about love."
In his last years, Robert led Urban Wilderness students at Aiken on the very ground where the Center now stands, beside the fire ring he built. Some of the first gifts to the Center came from Kooch-i-ching and Ogichi Daa Kwe counselors who donated part of their summer pay in his memory.
The forest next door
The 1,500-square-foot Center is a solar-powered, completely off-grid woodshop and classroom, with a porch for canoe work and trails leading into Mt. Airy Forest, Cincinnati's largest park. Students will build skin-on-frame canoes, learn hand tools, CNC machining and 3D printing, and study plant identification, Leave No Trace and wilderness first aid.
What's next for “The Shu”:
January 2027: A pilot group of Aiken career-tech students begins at the Center.
Spring 2027: Applications open for a free after-school program for high school students across Cincinnati Public Schools and Greater Cincinnati.
Fall 2027: Two after-school groups of about 16 students begin a one- to three-year pathway that ends with a capstone project and internship.
It took a community
The $980,000 Center was entirely privately funded by more than 250 individuals, families, foundations and businesses. We are deeply grateful to Messer Construction, BHDP Architects, Forge Lumber, Cincinnati Public Schools, Aiken New Tech High School and Aiken FFA, the University of Cincinnati, Taft Law, the Foundation's Board of Trustees, the Urban Wilderness team and the Shuman family—Joyce, Roy, Celeste, Will and Claire—for sharing Robert with us.
We are just $20,000 from our $1 million goal. If you would like to help us finish strong, make a gift to the Shuman Urban Wilderness Center.
