…How would you like to spend three weeks in windswept Patagonia, summiting a 19,000-foot-high peak in the Andes, taking on Class III and IV rapids alongside a volcano — and picking up six college credits for adding this adventure to your academic experience? The University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) is offering this 24-day course (EVS…

…The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) has forged an academic relationship with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) that will see UNCW students earning up to six academic credits for participating in and completing educationally-focused backcountry expeditions thousands of miles from campus and lasting up to a month. Beginning next spring,…

…Embedded in each of our outdoor and wilderness-based experiential education courses is the delivery of place-based learning, which was first introduced by David Sobel in his groundbreaking book, Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities. Place-based learning connects students to history, landscape, geography, and people through the intense exploration of a specific area which, along the…

…Having a first aid kit handy is always a good idea, but what should it contain? The answer to this question really depends on what you plan to be doing. There are different considerations for a kit that you carry in your car versus one that you grab up for a mountain bike ride or…

…Few things on Earth can match the unsurpassed contentment of sleeping outdoors. “If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night,” Bill Watterson once wrote, “I bet they’d live a lot differently.” Amen to that! The stars above, the clouds floating by like sailing vessels, the trees whispering in the breeze. And, of…

…Jena Honeyman was born to teach, but not in the public school system where standardization appears to have removed hope of educating the individual. That’s why Honeyman — a native of Washington State who was raised in the Adirondack Mountains of New York — is a perfect fit for the staff here at The National…

…No doubt about it. The wilderness is an absolutely inspiring place to visit. However, we certainly can’t be hanging out in the forests or atop the mountains all the time. So how do we stay connected and inspired? One excellent way to remain in contact with nature is through books — allowing words to describe…

Here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), it’s not always necessary for employees to be front and center in order to be seen as a vital asset to our operations. Take Liz Shirley for example. Sure, this veteran outdoor program director can often be found leading our clients on a variety…

…It’s long been an objective of ours to partner with a college or university to offer college level credits for National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education training. Now, just a year or so after commencing the search for a higher education partner, we’re just weeks away from being able to announce that we’ll soon…

…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…

…One thing we don’t do here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education is work within a vacuum. We depend heavily upon many organizations that went before us or that help us realize our mission and full potential. Today, we’d like to shine the light on one of those groups that works behind…

…It stands to reason that the success or failure of any non-solo outdoor adventure depends to a great degree on the person or people accompanying you. As a result, and long before you head out the door on your next adventure, you’ll want to ensure you don’t select a partner who can quickly turn either…

…Editor’s Note: Today’s post is the 250th since we launched our blog in December of 2013. And what better way to mark the occasion than by publishing a post about the efficacy of outdoor and adventure-based experiential education. Thank you to everyone who has been along for the ride so far. From our writers and…

…NCOAE is proud to have been recognized as a 2023 Organizational Member of the Year by the Association for Experiential Education (AEE)!…

…Dr. Christopher Davis, The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education’s medical director, spent most of his adult life combining his passion for helping others with his love of the outdoors. He serves as medical director for all of our field courses and trainings, including wilderness medicine and EMS training programs, ad outdoor educator and…

…Growing up in a small town in the foothills of North Carolina, Chris Brooks claims his lifetime dream from the age of 5 was to become a paramedic. Today, he is the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program Director here at The National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education (NCOAE), where he teaches EMS courses in order…

…Coming off a four-year stint as coordinator for a university outdoor recreation program, J.T. Schexnayder III is proving to be a masterful leader as our outdoor program coordinator. Raised in Myrtle Beach, S.C., this neighboring state native led his middle school peers on backpacking, climbing, caving and paddleboard expeditions to backcountry areas in his home…

It’s official. We’ve symbolically planted a National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) flag in the ground and established a basecamp for our South American operations in Southern Chile/Northern Patagonia. What does that mean to you? It means that — as of the final days of last year — we officially have a base…

“Phone’s ringing, Dude” — The Big Lebowski The phone’s also ringing here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), and a good number of times the caller is representing a public, independent or charter school that is seeking help with their fledgling outdoor education and wilderness-based adventure programs. These educational institutions either…

…Trauma-informed practices accounts for physical and emotional safety, trust and transparency, healthy peer-to-peer interaction, and a respect for diversity….