♪♪ -Welcome to Windows to the Wild, I'm Willem Lange.

Today we'll turn back time nearly 30 years.

We hike with the former co-host of NHPBS’s Nature Works to hear what she's up to today.

Then we'll stop by a swimming hole in Kittery, Maine, where every Friday morning a group of friends, new and old, get together and take a plunge.

First, Renée Blacken and left Bethlehem, New Hampshire, on a 3200 mile rowing journey to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

You're about to ride along with her and hear why she spent more than two months at sea alone.

♪♪ In late January 2026, rowing crews gathered at a Marina in the Canary Islands.

♪♪ ♪♪ [crowd cheering] It wasn't the start of a race, but the beginning of a life changing adventure.

♪♪ [applause] ♪♪ ♪♪ [chuckles] ♪♪ Yeah, I think that moment of shoving off the dock at Lanzarote, it was a little bit surreal.

♪♪ I think you feel all the things like, ♪♪ am I ready?

[chuckles] ♪♪ [ocean churns] -Those are the thoughts Renée Blacken and reckoned with as she pushed away from the dock in the Canary Islands.

She aimed her boat westward toward Antigua, 3200 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

♪♪ -Was there self-doubts at any time?

-Whether or not I would be able to do it?

-What am I doing?

-Oh, yeah!

No, I said that all the time!

[laughs] What am I doing?

[laughs] Yeah yeah, no, that was like a daily thing of like.

[laughs] It just-- It was just such a wild and unbelievable thing for me.

But then you just-- You just get on with it.

♪♪ [ocean churns] [Renée singing] ♪♪ I would row 500 miles, and-- -The Atlantic Dash is an annual event with a simple goal: Safely cross the ocean in a custom rowboat.

[singing continues] Some crews leave the Canary Islands as a team.

Renée is alone in her boat, which makes her the first female to row the event solo.

Everything she needs for the two month journey, including a satellite phone, is packed on board.

-Everything was packed in the boat.

There was no support or chase boat that went with us.

We had daily communication with the event, but there was no no support vessel that went along with us.

So yeah, everything we took with us when we left.

-Here we go-- -Off we go, yeah.

-Renée lives in Bethlehem, New Hampshire with her son, Walter.

The outdoors is her home.

It has been for most of her life.

-I did a thousand miles of backpacking on the Appalachian Trail when I was younger.

And, yeah, I just find peace and gratitude in those natural spaces that's unlike anything other.

-It's, it's wild-- -That's one of the reasons Renée took to the water while in high school.

-So I learned to row at the Putney School in southeastern Vermont when I was in high school, and I continued on at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and I also rode for a year at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

♪♪ [wind blows] -Rowing across an ocean powered only with oars and will is impressive.

This story, however, is about why Renée decided to do it.

[wind blows] -I have experienced some complex trauma in my life and I have in my adult life in the last few years, been able to kind of put that together, that some of the mental and physical health issues that I have dealt with throughout, but especially sort of in my adult life, ♪♪ are linked to that, and was able to in the last 3 to 5 years, really find some programs that did help me.

[indistinct chatter] -You don't see a person face to face for 65 days.

-In 2024, Renée created Outdoor Adventuring for Good.

It's a nonprofit that supports trauma recovery programs in northern New Hampshire.

-We need more resources in this part of the state for trauma recovery.

The further north you go, the more obvious that becomes.

-The Atlantic Dash was a way for Renée to raise awareness and support for her program.

It was also a chance to face any self-doubt she had head on.

-For me, and I think there is a general understanding that there is so much there's so much potential for healing that comes from being in the natural world, and that one just by being outside but two, I think by by challenging ourselves too, by putting ourselves in situations where we end up finding out what we're really capable of.

Good morning.

It is day 12 solo rowing the Atlantic Ocean.

So this morning we have some oatmeal with some freeze dried peaches.

When I came across the Atlantic dash, it was pretty much like immediately I knew I was going to do it.

I knew I was going to do it solo, and I knew I was going to row to support trauma recovery programs, because it was this idea of not letting the mental and physical health issues or the trauma that I had experienced be the sum total of my story.

Like, did I get into that boat with mental and physical health issues?

Yes, yes I did, but I got into the boat.

Tail wind helping me out a little bit which is nice.

A beautiful day on the Atlantic Ocean.

-Training for a long distance ocean row takes time.

25 months for Renée.

Besides a lot of rowing and strength training, she had to learn to survive at sea.

-There was definitely like some technical skill training that I had to do.

I did VHF radio training, survival at sea, marine first aid, navigation.

So I had to take all those courses to be able to go.

And then yeah, it is the training of the mind.

♪♪ -Renée rode alone.

♪♪ But with a satellite phone on board, she connected with the support team she left behind.

[wind blows] -And then I did have communication devices that allowed me to text back and forth with, with folks and occasionally like call or video chat.

If the connection was good enough.

-We talked probably at least twice a week, and that was on a Garmin inReach.

So it was kind of like texting back and forth, and then every now and then we got to call on WhatsApp like a FaceTime.

And that was really cool because like, I got to see what it was like out there from her perspective.

♪♪ [Renée singing] Day 47, sunrise on the Atlantic.

-One of the greatest challenges Renée faced was surprisingly simple, yet pivotal to her life.

♪♪ [water churning] ♪♪ [Renée sighs] -I think one particular time was when I had to jump in to clean the bottom of my boat, because barnacles will build up on the bottom, and that can lead to drag and kind of slow the boat down.

So you know, you're going to have to do this.

You know, that's part of ocean rowing, but knowing you're going to have to do it and then actually jumping into the Atlantic while you're alone on this six meter floating platform is an entirely different thing.

[water churning] So I was really, really terrified, of doing that.

Like really, really terrified.

[water churning] But I talked to our safety officer, I talked to our event director.

They talked me through it.

And finally I was like, all right, harness up, tie in.

I went over to the side and cleaned the bottom of the boat, and got back-- Got back in the boat and was like, ♪♪ I did it.

♪♪ -It was during moments like this that Renée says she learned a lot about trust.

♪♪ -I think that is like the idea of, like, learning to trust myself, learning to trust that I can do these things, that I can solve the problems and that I can figure things out.

In, in ocean rowing, it's not necessarily if something goes sideways, it's when, and how you figure it out just because that environment is so extreme.

♪♪ When you've experienced trauma, trust can be a hard thing to work on.

And so that is part of what I realized out there, is that I could rely on myself, but also that it was okay to trust my boat, and it was okay to trust other people who were helping guide me along the way.

♪♪ -Nearly 65 days after she left the dock in the Canary Islands, Renée stepped out of her cabin onto the deck and saw the distant shores of Antigua.

-Its land, its land!

It is, Antigua.

I've been at sea for 64.5 days and that's Antigua.

♪♪ That's incredible.

♪♪ I can't believe it.

[Renée laughing] ♪♪ It is still about 25 miles away.

When I saw it I was like-- This was the wildest feeling.

So, you could just see the outline of it on the horizon and you're like, oh my God, I've done this thing like I've done it.

You know, people would say like, what's the first thing you want to do when you get on land?

I was like, hug my son!

[Renée laughs] Obviously!

[Renée laughs] ♪♪ -I was just like amazed and like in awe because, my mom had just rode an ocean like, I, I've never experienced something like that.

And it was just it was a really cool experience to know that my mom could do something as big as this, and that I could also go through that with her and like, be able to support her on her journey through this, -Did it change you in any way?

Did you come back a different person than when you left?

-Yeah it's funny.

It, yeah, it definitely did.

My life has-- -My life has changed.

I don't think you can do something like that and not be in some way.

♪♪ [Renée singing] When I was out there, it was like the days were really, like it was just really, really hard.

There's no getting around the fact that, like, rowing across the Atlantic Ocean is really, really hard.

But every day, being like, there is something beautiful in this day.

There is something joyful in this day.

Letting myself see it.

Letting myself feel it.

Knowing that like I would never be in that exact time and place again.

♪♪ And now that it's over.

Yeah, I think about it all the time.

♪♪ [Renée chuckles] ♪♪ -In 1999, NHPBS launched a 16-episode wildlife series called Nature Works.

The stories are still available online and attract a global audience.

Patrice Doherty was 14 years old when she co-hosted the series, and I had the chance recently to meet with her to see what she's up to now.

♪♪ -Hello?

[chuckling] [overlapping chatter] Hi!

[chuckling] -It's been nearly 30 years since these friends and former colleagues have got together.

[laughter] -Hi!

[inaudible] You too!

-And the Squam Lake Natural Science Center seemed like the right place to get acquainted, again.

-Hi there!

Do you remember me?

-Of course.

-So nice to see you.

-Yeah you grew up-- -It's been a long time-- I know!

-This is the production team that created stories for the NHPBS series Nature Works.

♪♪ Patrice Doherty was the co-host of the series, along with the Science Center senior naturalist Dave Erler.

♪♪ -Hey Dave, isn’t that a wood turtle?

-Yeah that is a wood turtle!

Do you think you can catch it?

-Together, they explored the outdoors and told stories about the wildlife, big and small, that they encountered.

♪♪ [softly] Hi, pleasure to see you.

-Very nice to meet you it’s a pleasure-- -All is well?

-Yeah!

Yes all is well.

♪♪ -I had a chance to meet Patrice and find out what she's been up to since her time co-hosting Nature Works.

We are where?

-We are in Goffstown, New Hampshire, on the top of Uncanoonuc Mountain -Uncanoonuc Mountain?

-Yes, yes.

-Okay.

-Obviously a Native American name, right?

-Yes that is correct.

-You've been interested in the outdoors?

-Yes.

-Since you were a little squirt right?

-Yes, yes absolutely.

We liked to go outdoors, usually on Saturdays.

Saturdays was our quiet time.

-Who is we?

-My family.

Yes, yes, so.

You know, turn off the TV and go outside.

Go for nature hikes and whatnot and just kind of take a break from the hustle and bustle of the world.

There's something about it, you know?

-Well, yeah, I know!

[both laugh] Kinda like it myself-- -You might know a thing or two about that-- -Kinda like it myself.

Yeah, very nice.

[Patrice laughs] ♪♪ Patrice still gets outdoors.

♪♪ [water ripples] Perhaps to carry over from her days on Nature Works, ♪♪ or maybe from her childhood with her family.

[water ripples] -And now these days, I-- I'm still doing a lot of the things that I did when I was filming.

So I'm still out there kayaking.

I love to ride my bike.

I never rode my bike on camera, but I like to do that as well.

And, I have snowshoes so that I can go snowshoeing in the middle of the winter.

I was taught how to do that through this show as well, so.

[Willem chuckles] I definitely picked up some things that that I never quite put down.

♪♪ -Moose are the largest of the deer family.

-The 16 episode series continues to attract an online audience.

People from around the world watch the stories and log in to learn about the natural world.

♪♪ One of the most important parts of the corals niche is providing hiding places for marine animals living there, angelfish hogfish, triggerfish-- -Any significant experiences you must have some on nature works right when you were shooting?

-Oh, definitely.

We went to Florida.

That was very exciting and I got to go into the ocean and do snorkeling for the very first time, and I only doggy paddle.

I only know how to doggy paddle.

So it was very interesting going out there and-- ♪♪ But it was really neat to be out there and, and experience that.

And, and we also we went around Florida and we did different shoots looking for different animals to, to get shots of.

So I got to see my first alligator when I was out there, there was a really large one that we came across when we were driving down one of the the ways down there, it was huge and we all were able to pull over and they were able to pull out the cameras and film it.

-Some people call estuaries the nursery of the sea, because so many species of fish and shellfish rely on their sheltered waters as safe places to spawn.

♪♪ -We went all over the place, mostly in New Hampshire, and I mean, I've been back to some of those places, which is kind of exciting.

I went to Beaver Brook.

We filmed in Beaver Brook.

♪♪ ♪♪ [whistle blowing] ♪♪ Hi, Dave!

It looks as if you have a hawk down to flight weight.

♪♪ -You're right Patrice.

We're getting it ready for school programing again.

-We went to the nature center up in Squam, yes.

-Oh Squam Lake Science Center yes yeah okay yeah yeah.

-And I've been back there.

I was able to see Dave when he was still working there, so that was really exciting.

Is it because of what they eat that they can survive in so many different kinds of communities?

-You're right.

-Patrice was 14 when she began co-hosting Nature Works.

She credits her curiosity, outdoor experience and work in theater, for landing the job in front of the camera.

-Niche is a French word meaning nest.

♪♪ It's the same in nature too.

Among a group of creatures living in a particular place, each organism has its own role or niche.

♪♪ Well, I still do theater, so I'm constantly doing shows.

I usually do 2 or 3 a year with a local theater company that I've been with since I was about 14 or 15 years old, so, I'm gonna- This will be my 28th or 29th show with them, believe it or not.

-Wow!

-So yes, it's like a family, but I've been with this company all that time.

♪♪ -Through here.

♪♪ Over here.

♪♪ ♪♪ -See, this looks like a good place to find moose.

-This is a great place to find moose.

-You ever take a look at some of your own shows.

-I did recently, for the first time in a very long time, and it was quite a throwback.

It's very strange to watch yourself 25 years later.

[water ripples] Some of the most beautiful communities are in a place called the intertidal zone, where the sea meets the land.

Let's go meet Dave at the Seacoast Science Center and see what type of animals we can find there.

But it's kind of special.

It's very unique to have something like that, to be able to look back on, you know?

And then of course, we did so many things over, you know, the year and a half or two year span that it's I couldn't remember all of it so to go back and see all of it, you-- I'm reminded of some of the things that I've done.

And it's, it's it's just like, oh yeah, I did that.

Oh yeah we went there.

[waves crashing in distance] Plants were among the first organisms to arrive on land.

They captured energy from the sun, and then later on, other organisms changed taking advantage of the energy the plants were capturing -You like the old shows?

I mean, I mean-- -I do.

I'm really proud of them.

I'm proud of them and, and honestly, the times that I have gone back and watched episodes, I feel like I always learn something new.

On land, These groups are called terrestrial communities.

-Because I went back to Boston January 2001.

[overlapping chatter] -It was incredible.

I haven't seen anyone in about 25, 26, 27 years in order to just see us all together again was just it was like seeing family again.

And we're just full of memories and it's fun to hear other people recall things that I forgot and vice versa and it's just it's incredible to be part of this and that we can all still get together and do something like this.

♪♪ -Can you think of a better way to greet the sunrise than with a plunge in chilly ocean water?

[Willem hesitates] Maybe!

But for the folks you're about to meet in Kittery, Maine, it's a Friday morning ritual that keeps them coming back week after week.

♪♪ ♪♪ [laughter] -My name is Jenna Pitoscia, and this is the fourth summer that we've come here and jumped in the water.

♪♪ [cheering] Plus I’m from Minnesota, and I've been living in New Hampshire for eight years and Minnesota it's the land of 10,000 lakes so I grew up around water and being in it all the time yet-- So obviously I spent the first couple of years in New Hampshire exploring, and I found this place and fell in love with it.

♪♪ [Jenna chuckles] So the first time I came out, I just invited two of my neighbors, and we came 7 a.m.

before work on Friday and just jumped in the water.

[indistinct chatter] [cheering] And we're here for about 30 minutes and then went to work and it started to just catch on slowly.

We-- I had a coworker join.

♪♪ [water ripples] -My name is Doug Ridley.

I am a big fan.

-How’s the water?

-Actually great!

It's so good.

So I was lucky enough to work with Jenna, who founded the group, and when she said, I'm getting some people together on Friday to jump in the water before work, I was like, count me in!

♪♪ Woo hoo!

♪♪ [water splashes] ♪♪ I had a friend a while back tell me, Doug, you need a little bit more whimsy in your life.

♪♪ When we showed up for the first few weeks and people started showing up.

People started getting into the water, people were laughing.

People were just spending extra time having coffee, catching up on the week.

What are you up for the weekends?

It was this a magical time where it was like, wow, [indistinct chatter] -Here Jenna!

[water splashes] [cheering] -So how does it make you feel when you leave here?

-Fearless leader!

-So, so refreshed.

Every time I, I think everyone feels the same way.

We always like come to the end of the rock.

We look at it we’re really very apprehensive.

-I'm nervous.

[laughs] -I don't know, it seems cold today, but eventually someone takes the lead, jumps off first and everyone gets in.

[screams] [water splashes] [inaudible chatter] So it's been really cool and it's all ages.

Truly, we have, two year olds that come and one of my best friend's mom come.

-Are they future swimmers?

-I hope so.

-Real life of the party.

She is the best dressed here.

So it's just a real variety of people from, around, the seacoast and, it's been amazing to me, so many people and to have so much support and people seem to love it.

They keep coming back, week after week after week so, [water splashes] -I think swim club has really changed how I approach Fridays and the weekends.

-Yeah Grace.

Wooh!

-Because it's just a wonderful, fun way to start it.

I know that I'm going to see friends.

I know that I'm going to see folks who sometimes I see just in the summer at swim club, because life has taken us in different directions and we get together only on Fridays.

And I know that it's going to be a time when I can have support of other folks too.

♪♪ When you look at this specific spot where swim club is, and it overlooks the water and you have the birds calling and deer will come and sit and eat across the way.

This place, especially early morning, is magical.

Because it's just so quiet.

And so you have this energy that slowly builds as people come and they're, you know starting to drink their coffee and they're getting warmed up and they're just.

And then by the end, everyone's laughing and the energy is much more high.

I think getting people together that way and to see people face to face and to hug and to laugh together, to jump in the water and swim around, you can't replace that.

♪♪ -Does it remind you of home?

-It-- It does.

It does a lot.

I think the wildlife around here, the trees.

Yeah, the serenity of, of this area and the nature makes me feel like I'm at home a little bit.

[cheering] [cheering] -And now, I find it’s, that sad time when I have to say goodbye.

And so I shall.

Bye bye.

I'm Willem Lange and I hope to see you again, on Windows to the Wild.

♪♪ Support for the production of Windows to the Wild is provided by, the Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust, the John D. McGonagle Foundation, the Bailey Charitable Foundation, Road Scholar, and viewers like you.

Thank you!

-Make a gift to the wild and support the Willem Lange Endowment Fund, established by a friend of New Hampshire PBS.

To learn how you can keep environmental, nature and outdoor programing possible for years to come, Call our delvelopment team at (603) 868-4467.

Thank you!

♪♪ ♪♪ -Woo hoo!

♪♪ [water splashes] ♪♪ ♪♪