Trekkers After School Nature Club
"All of us were working together and all of us became leaders at different times." Sar Mu Na
Trekkers is an after school nature program for at-risk middle school youth. Campfires, group nature challenges, archery, hiking in the sunshine and the rain, camp-outs with hikes in the dark, listening to owls, roasting apples and telling stories are just some of the experiences we offer our Trekkers each fall and spring.
Trekkers began as a 5 week pilot offered in fall 2014 and spring 2015, through grants from The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and Strowd Roses. The program continued in fall 2015, funded by a repeat grant from Strowd Roses that allowed us to serve both returning Trekkers and many new ones. In spring 2016, thanks to funding from Learning Outside donors, the group was able to return for more adventures.
This year, 2016 - 2017, our Trekkers program grew thanks to funding from both The Grable Foundation and the Alces Foundation. The group of 12 middle school students met for 10 consecutive Fridays this fall and returns for 10 weeks this spring. Each season's sessions culminate in an overnight camp-out at Triangle Land Conservancy’s Irvin Nature Preserve where Learning Outside offers all of its programs.
Our Trekkers explore different outdoor skills each week - hiking, fire-making, archery, nature-challenges, edible wild plant identification, tracking and more. Activities call upon their ability to collaborate, to communicate with one another, and to grow as a team. “All your life, you meet and have to work with people you don’t always want to work with, that may even annoy you, but you build a relationship. And all of us here were part of one body – we were all working together.” Lwel Too
A huge thank you to the many partners who make our Trekker's program possible; all of those listed above as well as The Refugee Support Center, Smith Middle School and counselor Tina Moore for help and support at the school level, and Duke’s Outdoor Adventures Club, for providing tents, sleeping bags and pads for our overnight camp-outs. A special thank you to TLC’s Land Manager, Walt Tysinger for leading the group on amazing night owl walks as well providing friction fire demos for them at our camp-out spot at Woods Camp.
Trekkers is an after school nature program for at-risk middle school youth. Campfires, group nature challenges, archery, hiking in the sunshine and the rain, camp-outs with hikes in the dark, listening to owls, roasting apples and telling stories are just some of the experiences we offer our Trekkers each fall and spring.
Trekkers began as a 5 week pilot offered in fall 2014 and spring 2015, through grants from The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and Strowd Roses. The program continued in fall 2015, funded by a repeat grant from Strowd Roses that allowed us to serve both returning Trekkers and many new ones. In spring 2016, thanks to funding from Learning Outside donors, the group was able to return for more adventures.
This year, 2016 - 2017, our Trekkers program grew thanks to funding from both The Grable Foundation and the Alces Foundation. The group of 12 middle school students met for 10 consecutive Fridays this fall and returns for 10 weeks this spring. Each season's sessions culminate in an overnight camp-out at Triangle Land Conservancy’s Irvin Nature Preserve where Learning Outside offers all of its programs.
Our Trekkers explore different outdoor skills each week - hiking, fire-making, archery, nature-challenges, edible wild plant identification, tracking and more. Activities call upon their ability to collaborate, to communicate with one another, and to grow as a team. “All your life, you meet and have to work with people you don’t always want to work with, that may even annoy you, but you build a relationship. And all of us here were part of one body – we were all working together.” Lwel Too
A huge thank you to the many partners who make our Trekker's program possible; all of those listed above as well as The Refugee Support Center, Smith Middle School and counselor Tina Moore for help and support at the school level, and Duke’s Outdoor Adventures Club, for providing tents, sleeping bags and pads for our overnight camp-outs. A special thank you to TLC’s Land Manager, Walt Tysinger for leading the group on amazing night owl walks as well providing friction fire demos for them at our camp-out spot at Woods Camp.
