…Under our industry-best instructors, gain the skills necessary to become certified in Wilderness Medicine….

…Our certified EMT instructors provide professional instruction and individualized training. Explore NCOAE‘s EMT trainings and register today….

…Sarina Maki is a Field Instructor at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) in Wilmington, North Carolina. She leads custom group expeditions, including multi-day backpacking trips through North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, which are designed to build participant’s confidence, connection, and a love for the natural world. Originally from Ishpeming, Michigan, Sarina…

…Depending on where you live, you may see them every day or just when there’s a fire, police, or medical emergency where you are. Regardless of the frequency with which you see them, you may be wondering — what exactly does an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) do? EMTs are not just “ambulance drivers,” although that’s…

…Best practices for evaluating and transporting patients with potential spinal fractures or spinal cord injuries is a hot topic in emergency medicine. And it’s no wonder. All of us who work in the adventure programming and emergency medical services field fervently want to avoid causing or worsening a potentially catastrophic injury to someone’s spinal cord. …

…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…

…If one of your goals is to apply to medical school and eventually become a doctor, here are a few of the hurdles you’ll need to jump through. First, you’ll need a four-year Bachelor of Science degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA, a passing score on the MCAT exam, and a few glowing letters of…

…As we do each year, we are once again taking advantage of this space to inform you about opportunities for you, your staff, and your organization to participate in professional development, networking, and business growth and development available at upcoming outdoor industry conferences. In this edition, we are spotlighting nine events taking place between now…

…When it comes to wilderness medicine, theres so much more than tree branch splints. Explore the world of wilderness medicine with NCOAE!…

…Pennsylvania native Bethany Smith joined the team here at The National Center forOutdoor & Adventure Education in May of 2022, working as a field instructor in bothNorth Carolina and Oregon. As an NCOAE staffer, she has led a number of backpacking,inflatable kayaking and whitewater rafting trips, including several of our TeenLeadership Expeditions. Before joining us…

Editor’s Note: In this, the second installment of “The Three Bears,” we’ll hear from NCOAE staffer Stephen Mullaney tell yet another true tale about confrontations with bears. In this post, he’ll attempt to find the humor in a persistent bear taking up quarters in an NCOAE camp late at night. But let’s let Stephen tell…

…NCOAE is headquartered on a 15-acre wooded campus that offers housing options for students enrolled in one of our programs….

This Supplemental Privacy Notice is dated and effective January 1, 2020. NCOAE, LLC (dba, The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education)…

Matt Evans is one of the veteran staff members here at NCOAE and is now an assistant instructor, facilitating courses in the backcountry….

…Zac Adair, our co-founder and executive director, recently asked one of our courseparticipants why they signed up for a particular outdoor adventure. “It was a photo thatappeared on your website of a guy on top of a mountaintop with the blue skies above theglaciers in the background.” Picture yourself here. It’s a common tactic in…

…Years ago, I was working in wilderness-based setting with a group of gang members who were attempting to break away from the often-violent lifestyle in which they found themselves. During a break our programming, I asked a loaded question. “Anybody want to tell me about their tattoos and what they mean?” The 30 or so…

…The Dalles, Oregon, 9/8/2023. Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC), with locations in The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon, announced today a partnership with a worldwide leader in outdoor education and urban and wilderness medicine training, the National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). This is one of the newest partnerships developed by CGCC to…

…This is the last post in our four-part series on trends to be aware of in outdoor and adventure-based experiential education. In Part 1, we covered DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). Part 2 focused on restorative practices. And Part 3 called attention to trauma-informed learning.  Here in Part 4, we’re wrapping up the series with…

Max Chandler, WFR, is a Lead Field Instructor at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). Prior to joining the team at NCOAE, Max worked as a field instructor for the American Camp Association-accredited Adventure Treks in Flat Rock, NC. Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Max amassed a mountain of outdoor experience at…

…As you’ve probably heard or read, last month was the hottest June our planet has ever experienced — topping a prior record set in 2019. In fact, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the nine hottest Junes ever occurred over the past nine years. In addition, extreme heat creates crispy conditions, and…