BIDDEFORD — When Bill Woodward made the transition from being a commercial fisherman to running charter trips, he had to learn how to build a website by himself.

He studied what other businesses were doing online and pieced together his own page for Wolfpack Charters in Perkins Cove.

Then, Woodward got an email from professor Aimee Vlachos at the University of New England. She was looking for opportunities for students taking a class about branding for outdoor businesses. He met with three students on Zoom, and now they’re helping him update his website and design cards to leave in local hotels.

“It’s going to be a huge help,” Woodward, 58, said. “They’re so savvy.”

The students are enrolled in UNE’s new Outdoor Business and Innovation program, which will graduate its first three students this year. Some say it’s a unique undergraduate program because of its emphasis on entrepreneurship. Every class connects students with industry leaders and outdoor professionals in Maine. They develop brand strategies and product prototypes, go to conferences and work directly with businesses.

“We’re specifically focused on someone who wants to start their own business in the outdoors,” Vlachos, the program director, said.

Vlachos, who ran a surfing company for 12 years, was teaching at UNE in 2020 when she started developing the major with input from the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation and Maine Outdoor Brands. When the industry group announced the program in a newsletter, businesses flooded her inbox with emails.

“I had to respond saying, I don’t have students yet,” Vlachos said.

The first classes in the program started at UNE in Biddeford in fall 2024. Brendan Curley, of Medway, Massachusetts, was originally enrolled in the marine entrepreneurship program at UNE. He liked the business courses but was less interested in the science curriculum. He’s passionate about fishing and dreams about becoming a guide and owning his own lodge someday.

The day Curley saw a flyer for the new outdoor business program, he sent a picture to his mom and went straight to the admissions office to change his major.

Now a junior, Curley is one of the students working with Woodward as part of a class on outdoor branding. He likes talking with the fisherman about questions he might face in the future, such as the merits of keeping versus releasing striped bass on charter trips.

“I’m going to be walking down the same path a couple of years from now, so it’s cool to get that experience,” Curley, 20, said.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

During a class in March, Erika Dube, deputy director of recreation for Biddeford, listened attentively. She had tasked students with drafting a policy for the use of e-bikes at Clifford Park, a popular spot in the city for mountain bikers, and senior Fritz Van Winkle was talking about how to handle trail closures during mud season.

“That ‘leave no trace’ principle covers more than just trash,” Van Winkle said. “If you’re completely destroying the trail, you will leave a trace, and you’re breaking that principle.”

Dube nodded as he spoke. She told the students that their presentations would be useful in bringing ideas to policymakers at the city and communicating the eventual policy to the public.

“I’m so impressed by everyone’s contributions,” Dube said as they finished their presentation. “I’m a big fan of more is more when it comes to communication.”

Van Winkle was one of the first students to enroll in the major and will graduate this spring. He grew up in Raymond, and his family has owned a summer camp on Sebago Lake for generations. During his time in the program, he has helped craft policy for the Kennebunk Conservation Trust and attended industry conferences.

Last year, he worked in a group to build a prototype of a special holder for fly-fishing rods. They presented their idea in January 2025 to attendees at the Maine Outdoor Economy Summit, which Van Winkle said was an invaluable experience.

“We knew we were presenting in front of big dogs in that realm,” Van Winkle, 23, said. “That pushed everyone.”

OPENING DOORS

Sophomore Ava Richardson has worked for seven summers at a summer camp in Rhode Island. She wasn’t sure that she could build her career outside until she started the Outdoor Business and Innovation program at UNE.

“The experience has been more hands-on than I could ever imagine,” Richardson, 21, said.

She isn’t sure what she wants to do when she graduates. She said she wants to experience ski patrol, is interested in trail use policy and dreams about becoming a park ranger.

“In my past couple of years here, so many doors have opened,” Richardson said. “The direction I want to go now is so much more foggy than before, but in the best possible way.”

Richardson and Curley serve on a student board at Maine Outdoor Brands, a business alliance with more than 200 members. Executive Director Jenny Kordick said a recent workforce needs assessment showed that most employers in the outdoor sector find job candidates through word of mouth, so the face-to-face connections Vlachos encourages for her students are key.

“Having students who are well versed in some of the latest trends and also able to provide a perspective of their generation is something that we feel provides a lot of value to our industry and brands,” Kordick said. “It’s important for us to be in tune and have young people actively involved.”