Woods, water, wisdom: Registration open for summer wilderness adventure camp

Taking a dozen high school students into the wilderness for five days of camping, hiking, and environmental science field work isn’t a task for the faint of heart.

Fortunately, Catawba Riverkeeper’s Sophie McCarthy and Foothills Conservancy’s Brittany Watkins have the necessary resolve to accomplish the task.

The duo combined to lead the first Wilderness Watershed Adventure last summer and is making preparations for this year’s trip Aug. 3-8. The application process kicked off March 1.

McCarthy minced no words when describing what last year’s overnight environmental science and conservation summer camp meant to her when she recapped the experience at last week’s Lake James Watershed Symposium.

“This was one of my proudest accomplishments,” McCarthy said.

The camp was a true team effort. Riverkeeper, Foothills, Lake James Environmental Association, Southmountain Children and Family Services, N.C. State Parks, Duke Energy, Montreat College, and TOSS combined to make the free event happen.

Twelve students hiked with McCarthy and Watkins into the Linville Gorge and spent two nights there. Their days were filled with field work like studying macroinvertebrates in streams with Riverkeeper’s Grant Buckner and conducting water quality monitoring.

The group hiked to Lake James State Park and spent two nights there, learning things like habitat assessment and invasive species management, and getting a close look at the lake’s reptiles and amphibians.

Each evening, the campers met around the fire to discuss what they had learned that day. Those sessions were among Watkins’ favorite moments during the epic journey.

“We had group reflections at the end of the day in the evening around the campfire,” Watkins said. “It was a good time to reflect and share the experiences they had during the day. It was one of my favorite times. I felt like a little camper, too.”

It wasn’t all a barrel of laughs, though. The group’s strenuous hike out of the Gorge proved trying for the campers. But it all came out OK.

“There was a lot of complaining,” laughed Watkins. “But at the end, they were really proud of themselves.”

It wasn’t all hard work, either.

The kids enjoyed fishing and canoeing, and TOSS led some reflective art activities. At the end of the five-day camp, each student gave a presentation about what he or she had learned.

McCarthy and Watkins conducted pre- and post-camp surveys to gauge enthusiasm and were encouraged by the results.