By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
BRYSON CITY, N.C. – Need More Outdoors (NMO) is a nonprofit organization offering youth outdoor adventures and environmental education in western North Carolina. Cherokee Choices collaborates with NMO during their youth summer camps, and Director Robin Callahan and Behavioral Change Specialist Yolanda Saunooke sit on the NMO board.
“Part of our mission as a nonprofit is to collaborate with the resources that are here in western North Carolina. Cherokee Choices is a perfect example. We look to collaborate,” said Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff, executive director of NMO.
Need More Outdoors offers kayak instruction camp through Endless River Adventures. (Photos contributed)
“You have all these natural resources and outdoor activities here in western North Carolina. There’s mountain biking, fly fishing, hiking, rafting and kayaking, so many things that kids can do to get outside and get off their phones, but they don’t have the opportunity. So, a lot of what Need More is doing is just helping kids get the opportunity to take advantage of their natural resources and get past that barrier of ‘if you grow up here, you don’t do those things’.”
NMO also offers a scholarship program so that kids can have access to the necessary equipment like a fly-fishing rod or a kayak.
“We do have a really generous scholarship program, and a lot of people have donated equipment and time and money. It’s given us a good foundation to help kids because a real entry barrier is definitely equipment. Those are all things that Need More is trying to help problem-solve,” Kastorff said.
Need More Outdoors leads rafting instruction in collaboration with Endless River Adventures.
Eden Wilson, NMO outreach coordinator, said the skills that can be learned through NMO are lifelong and can create future careers. “There are opportunities. You can be a fly fisherman, a kayaker, and there’s also a lot of education that goes into it. We do Eco Splash camps throughout the summer where we’re in the river looking for invertebrates under rocks, snorkeling at the Cheoah River, kayak instruction camps through Endless River Adventures, grooming horses and going on hikes at the Otter Creek School Farm, and more,” she said.
“A kid who learns how to throw up a fly or learns how to roll a kayak, it’s like, what a rewarding experience. Being outdoors is a huge boost of confidence.”
Need More Outdoors is excited to offer several camps and opportunities this summer for kids across western North Carolina, including the Qualla Boundary. Learn more at North Carolina outdoor adventures – Need More Outdoors
