…Here’s an outdoor educator’s nightmare: You’re walking through the woods and you spot a bunch of teens climbing barefoot on a rocky cliff leading to water. Other inexperienced campers clumsily tend a campfire that is about to get out of control. Still others in this group stand waist-deep in a river, oblivious to the fast-moving…

…In ecology, “sustainability” refers to one’s capacity to endure. It’s how biological systems remain diverse and productive for very long periods of time. The notion of sustainability applies also to not-for-profit organizations, and in our case here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), to our ability to attract and retain support…

…The final bell has rung and children at public and private schools across the nation have cleaned out their lockers and headed out the doors and hopefully, outdoors. Some of these children are departing schools that rarely allow their students to get down and dirty in the outside world — such as Polaris Charter Academy…

…Here’s an exchange that recently occurred between a tourist and myself: “What kind of camera do you use?” “What?” “What kind of camera do you use to show people what you’ve done?” “I don’t,” I replied as I stepped onto the beach, board tucked under my arm, ready to paddle out to the surfline. The…

…Outdoor and adventure-based education programs are designed to take students out of their home environment and place them in outdoor settings where they can experience adventures — adventures that highlight challenges, the need for having empathy for others, as well as the need to develop characteristics that can result in a new generation of community…

…When shopping for human-outdoor equipment, keeping up with the Joneses used to be the norm. New skis, boots, boards, kayaks, apparel, bikes, wetsuits and more. Whatever your sport or pursuit of choice, you had to have the latest technical outdoor gear, whether that be the freshest technology, the most wicked new design, or equipment that’s…

…When it comes to staying connected with outdoor activities — even in the dead of winter — the important thing is to dig deep, don’t procrastinate, and most important, remain consistent. There’s an old expression that I just made up and it goes like this: You can’t stay full on yesterday’s hotdog. What does that…

…Here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), we’re known nationally and around the world for our consistency in producing highly impactful backcountry climbing, backpacking, kayaking and other outdoor adventures of an educational and team-focused nature. Our highly trained and experienced outdoor educators, field guides — along with our wilderness medicine and…

…What is Leave No Trace? The idea behind Leave No Trace is to embrace specific wilderness stewardship values in order to protect our backcountry areas for generations to come. Back in the early 1940s, Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the world Scouting movement, said, “Try and leave the world a little better than you found it.”…

…According to research we’ve recently discovered, children ages 8–18 now spend seven-and-a-half hours a day, seven days a week, using screens outside of the classroom. Those ages 12–17 use their phones to text message on a daily basis more than any other form of communication, including face-to-face interactions with peers, parents and others in their…

…Well, it’s official. We’ve just wrapped up and put a bow around another successful season of adventure-based programming in the Pacific Northwest, with all of our expeditions originated from our base of operations in Maupin, Ore., alongside the wild and scenic Deschutes River. And, of course, we here at The National Center for Outdoor &…

…Education Without Walls is a not-for-profit organization established by NCOAE to provide scholarships for students in financial need….

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…

…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…

Chris vanBrenk is an EMS instructor at NCOAE, where he oversees emergency room clinical rotations for our EMS students at several hospitals….

…Phillip Groves was one of the first EMT instructors hired at NCOAE and he has served as an assistant course director….

Wesley is an assistant instructor at NCOAE with experience in backpacking, rock climbing, whitewater canoeing and camp craft….

Registered NCOAE course and training participants need to complete and return the necessary forms before they begin their course or training….

NCOAE was founded to support a world shaped by people and institutions who are naturally inclined to serve one another….

Check out the organizations that NCOAE is directly affiliated with and explore our list of resources to learn more about outdoor education….