Ecuador

Late last year, the staff at Cape Fear Academy in Wilmington, North Carolina, asked for our help in creating a unique and meaningful 10-day, outdoor and adventure-based out-of-country expedition for a handful of its high school students.

In particular, Cape Fear’s educational leaders were looking for a diverse destination that would enable their students to immerse themselves deeply in a new culture — an adventure that would extend far beyond selfies, social media, suntan oil, and sand — and which would reinforce the school’s own values and curriculum. Known for designing and leading custom outdoor education programs for private and independent schools, we were happy to help!

The original Cape Fear Academy was established in 1868 as an independent school for boys. After closing in 1916, the school was reestablished 52 years later in 1968 with the commitment of “forging capable young adults with skills, confidence and resilience to take risks, solve problems and overcome challenges.”

So, it was with that focus in mind that the school asked us here at The National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education (NCOAE) to custom design an expedition for nine of the school’s students, along with a chaperone from the school and three NCOAE field instructors. Their destination? Ecuador.

Our staff prepared an itinerary that incorporated the school’s objectives of instilling confidence, facing challenges, taking on informed risks, and solving problems. After all, those missives mirror the (more…)

One tree doesn’t offer the strength of a forest, just as one organization can’t lead an entire industry.

According to others, we here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) have distinguished ourselves as outdoor and adventure education industry leaders. But without collaborations, our ability to be creators and innovators would be difficult — if not impossible to achieve.

Since 2009, we have sought out ways to collaborate, learn, and lead with others. As a result, partnerships have taken us around the globe and helped us grow, and we happily play it forward, or backward or sideways to help our partners and others do the same.

As the calendar runs out in 2021 and we look ahead toward 2022, we see our biggest year yet on the horizon. On the agenda are courses, trainings, expeditions, and custom outdoor education programs that vary in length from three days to three months — all of which focus on technical outdoor and personal development skills. These include mountaineering, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, surfing, sea kayaking, remote backcountry travel and camping, and of course… team building.

So, how exactly do partnership and collaborations with like-minded organizations help us grow? As we began working with public, private, and independent schools over 10 years ago, the word spread about our programming, curriculum, depth of instruction, and track record of facilitating programs that shifted students’ lives, school cultures, and even started to redefine communities.

For example, our collaboration with (more…)

Looking for a teen expedition this summer? We here at NCOAE are excited to announce that our 2022 season of backcountry and wilderness adventures for teen-agers is already up and running and in full swing.

At the end of February, a dozen students led by a team of NCOAE field instructors, headed down to Ecuador for a cultural immersion and rafting adventure. For those of us on the administrative side of things, couldn’t wait for the students experience the Palugo Farm — a sustainable organic farm that feeds 30 families each week.

NCOAE students and instructors at Palugo Farm, Quito-Ecuador.

To be sure, we have a busy season ahead, with backcountry adventurers to be found anywhere, from paddling in the Everglades to rafting Oregon’s beautiful Three Sister’s wilderness, as well as backpacking all around Pisgah’s National Forest.

Any of this sound good to you? Are you looking to step out of your comfort zone this summer? We still have openings on many of our summer teen leadership expeditions. It’s an opportunity to learn what it takes to navigate the backcountry, push your limits with new activities, and make life-long friends as you work together to cultivate the adventure you never knew you needed.

With activities that include backcountry cooking, campsite set-up, compass and map navigation, Leave No Trace training, as well as exposure to the NCOAE curriculum, you’ll leave the backcountry feeling accomplished and ready for more.

Spend seven days rafting down the (more…)