Develop essential wilderness knowledge and skills — while living and learning in wild, beautiful places throughout North Carolina!…

Discover North Carolina’s remote, technical terrain, as you backpack and paddle through the wilderness on a 14-day adventure for teens!…

I am setting up fences around the magic carpets, so I don’t see the family come in, nor book a group lesson. Mom would have led the way, hand on her husband as they navigated through the stiles to the desk and on to the rental equipment area. the son, Sawyer, would have followed, giddy…

This summer, ten local teens will fly to Alaska, take a small plane into the back country, and spend three weeks hiking and clearing trails. These days, many young people go on similar organized wilderness adventures, but these Wilmington teens are not typical participants. They all have either been identified as “chronically homeless” or they…

Park Earns “Hot Spot” Status Bringing National Outdoor Enthusiasts to Enlighten Public on Unintended Impact and “Leave No Trace” Skills Free Events October 6 – 9 to Train Outdoor Enthusiasts How to Diminish Their Impact on Natural Surroundings September 25, 2017 — The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and its Leave No Trace…

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — The Carolina Beach State Park is a popular place for visitors and locals to enjoy. However, some species living in the park, like Venus Flytraps, are in danger. “In some regards, people are loving them to death,” Carolina Beach State Park Superintendent, Chris Helms said. With nearly 750.000 people from…

A change in circumstance, environment or routine can create apprehension in the most fearless of individuals. And that’s especially true for the nine North Carolina teenagers raised in low-income families who recently participated in an intense, three-week wilderness-based, service-learning program, 4,500 miles from home. Before heading off for the Alaskan backcountry this past summer, the…

WILMINGTON — Nine Wilmington-area teens from chronically homeless families just spent three weeks calling Alaska home. The trip was organized by the National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), a Wilmington-based non-profit in the same vein of NOLS or Outward Bound. Largely funded by a $25,000 Challenge Cost Share Program Grant from the National…

The headquarters of the National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) is right here in Wilmington, North Carolina. There are various programs and courses available for people who want to experience the wilderness – including Education Without Walls for chronically homeless / impoverished youth. Support for the program comes through volunteers, gifts-in-kind, and underwriting…

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) Ten local high school students returned after spending three weeks on a backcountry adventure in Alaska. The students, whose families live at or below the Federal Poverty Level, were awarded a $25,000 Challenge Cost Share Program Grant by the National Park Service. The funding supported the local non-profit group National Center for…

When Zac Adair began racing BMX bikes at the age of seven, he’d never considered that some people study and make a living in adventure education. Over the next two decades, as he participated in football, baseball, rock climbing, surfing, white water rafting, and snow skiing, it still didn’t enter his mind. Yet, in the…

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — What happens when a man who can’t see uses his passion for the outdoors to teach local young men and women life skills? You get Blind Inspiration! WWAY’s Daniel Seamans introduces you to our Extraordinary Person of the Week. “It’s made me want to strive for what I can be,” Que…

Wilmington’s National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education teaches young people leadership, self-reliance. SNOWS CUT — Bouncing between homes for much of his childhood, 16-year-old Quenton Bowman used to have a hard time trusting people. Then he went outside. Bowman is one of 800 New Hanover County students served over the past decade by the…

Ten Wilmington high-school students are preparing for a three-week Alaskan wilderness adventure as part of a program that introduces outdoor excursions for students with financial needs. Serving as ambassadors for the National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education’s program Education Without Walls (EWW), the students will climb, hike and camp on glaciers in the remote…

Outdoor Retailer and Adidas Outdoor are pleased to announce the finalists for the seventh annual Outdoor Inspiration Awards, presented by Adidas Outdoor. The Outdoor Inspiration Awards recognize those whose efforts go above and beyond in inspiring others to engage in outdoor activities. The event will take place during Outdoor Retailer Winter Market at the Salt…

Two organizations in Wilmington will partner Wednesday for Whole Foods Market’s Community Day to benefit local youth. According to a news release, five percent of all sales at Whole Foods on Oleander will go to the National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education, which is a Wilmington-based non-profit that promotes critical thinking, improved interpersonal relationships…

Dig deep into the issues facing outdoor brands and retailers, from domestic vs. international manufacturing to brick-and-mortar vs. online commerce. Conversations with CEOs, VPs, supply chain reps, retail clerks, marketing gurus and an occasional celebrity outdoorist offer valuable insights and entertainment about the business of playing outdoors. In this collection of episodes, we’re talking to…

CELINE ADAIR, co-owner of the National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education in Wilmington, was in her teens when she first started spending a lot of time outdoors, tackling activities such as back-packing, surfing, rafting, and rock climbing. Twenty years later, she’s inspiring others to do the same and managing the roles of wife, mother,…

With the approach of summer comes camp season, a time when young people get to feel as if they are out on their own, while parents are given some alone time. But rather than two weeks of ballet, tennis or swimming, what about an adventure that goes up mountains, down rivers and across state lines?…

Panacea Adventures will host its first Panacea Paddle, a daylong festival with paddling competitions that will raise money June 4. In June, Panacea Adventures sent 15 homeless students on an eight-day trek through the mountains, giving them an enduring lesson in self reliance. Panacea Adventures is a Wilmington organization that develops and leads outdoor adventure…