…If you look atop our website, you’ll see a unique diamond-shaped icon to the left of our organization’s name, and that new brand mark is, well, brand new to us. The name “brand mark,” by the way, is just another fancy way to say “logo,” and we’re really happy to tell you how we came…

We have a formula here at the National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) and it reads like this: Self + Community + Action = Impact. In fact, self is the backbone of what we do at NCOAE. It involves our esteem, self-actualization and the decisions we choose to make — all of which…

Editor’s Note: Stephen Mullaney, NCOAE’s lead instructor, recently returned from our first-ever program abroad — an expedition to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Stephen led a group of South Korean high school teens on a six-day expedition through portions of this mystical and spiritual country. Below are his reflections on what he describes as…

…Say what you will about global warming, climate change and other hemispheric anomalies, but there’s no question in anybody’s mind that a Category 4 hurricane is making a direct bullseye run at Wilmington, N.C., and The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) headquarters facilities. The good news is that our staff have all…

…If Gordon Harrison’s name sounds familiar to you, that likely means one of two things: You either know him personally or you’re a fan of the water sport known as wakeboarding. David “Gordon” Harrison (the third) recently graduated from one of our 19-Day ‘Intensive’ EMT-Basic training courses. And as you probably figured out by now,…

…Laura Moore @ GWBJ. | June 16, 2025 By Laura Moore Not all educational programs are alike. The core philosophies and values vary from organization to organization. But the Wilmington-based National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education is in a class by itself. Tucked away within a haven of live oak trees off River Road…

…Camp L.E.A.D. (Learn. Explore. Adventure. Discover.) is a dynamic weeklong summer day camp for 8–11-year-olds, hosted by The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE)….

“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…

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…

…NCOAE’s Camp L.E.A.D. builds leadership for ages 8–11 in Pender County—serving Burgaw, Hampstead, Surf City & more. Flexible formats, scholarships available….

…When I see people walk out of the woods or trek down a mountainside or yank a kayak out of a river, I can’t help but sidle up to them and fire a dozen questions their direction. In fact, that’s how I recently ended up chatting with a hiker named Daniel inside a Wilmington, N.C.,…

…As 2016 comes to an end, we’re honored to take a moment out from our end-of-year activities to say thank everyone for their continued support and encouragement of The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). When our founders Zac & Celine Adair started this organization in 2009, their mission then for NCOAE was…

…Applicants to our nationally renowned EMT training courses often ask us if they can taketheir new EMT credentials to the state where they live, and the answer is mostly yes.The National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education’s (NCOAE) campus islocated in North Carolina, where we offer 21-day “Intensive” EMT-Basic and 23-day“Intensive” Advanced EMT training courses…

…For anyone interested in a career in the outdoor education, adventure programming, and guiding sectors of the outdoor industry, there are many trails to reach your destination. Among these are university recreation programs, internships, seasonal employment and more.  Not all pathways in this wide and diverse industry necessarily require a recreation-specific degree. However, an associate’s…

We are currently hiring a seasonal logistics coordinator to manage course related needs for NCOAE‘s outdoor education programming….

…When the busy season for summer-based outdoor education programming winds down, many in the outdoor education community may have found themselves returning to other avocations and means to make a living. For those of us who remain in the field of education — albeit in a more traditional setting — we continue what we know to…

…What you need to know to succeed in an online EMT training course, from The National Center for Outdoor & Adventre Education…

…It must have been about a year ago that we first wondered aloud if it’d be possible to put our backcountry knowledge and experiences on display for the benefit of the folks in our local community. As a national organization, we tend to think and operate big (visit our website and you’ll find NCOAE courses…

…After years of hard work and preparation, we are pleased to share that we’ve been accredited by the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) — a Boulder, Colorado-based not-for-profit organization, with roots in adventure-based education, that exists to connect the global community of outdoor educators and expand our collective capacity to enrich lives through experiential education….

…A North Carolina television news station has run a colorful three-minute segment called “Extraordinary People,” that highlights our very own co-founder and executive director, Zac Adair (video footage from the segment appears at the end of today’s post). Daniel Seamans, evening anchor correspondent for WWAY TV3, put the cameras on Zac and The National Center for Outdoor…