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Our Program

CORE is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth in the Morganton community through hands-on outdoor education and adventure programming. CORE offers a range of opportunities, including weekly meetings, weekend adventures, service projects, and wilderness expeditions. The program encourages long-term engagement, allowing students to progress through various age groups and graduate upon high school completion. This structure provides participants with a unique and transformative experience, helping them build advanced recreation skills, strengthen community bonds, and develop lifelong passions for outdoor activities and environmental stewardship. Through these experiences, CORE cultivates future leaders, skilled outdoor enthusiasts, and dedicated environmental advocates who will positively impact their communities for years to come.

Weekend Adventures

Weekend adventures at CORE are designed to inspire and empower students, helping them recognize and appreciate both their personal strengths and those of their peers. CORE offers a diverse range of outdoor activities, including:
 

  • Rock Climbing

  • Bouldering

  • Caving

  • Canoeing

  • Backpacking

  • Camping

  • Hiking

  • And more!
     

These experiences are crafted to build individual confidence while providing students the opportunity to challenge themselves in a safe and supportive environment. Along the way, they develop valuable skills in recreation, resilience, and leadership, learning to overcome obstacles and face adversity head-on. CORE offers one to three weekend trips per month, running from September through May, allowing students ample opportunity to grow, connect, and thrive.

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Weekly Meetings

Each week, CORE students come together for a structured meeting that includes an opening circle, discussions about upcoming trips, team-building activities, and lessons focused on recreation skills or naturalist topics. The session wraps up with hands-on activities and a closing circle. Some of the lessons taught at CORE include:

  • Identifying local plants, trees, birds, amphibians, mammals, and macro-invertebrates

  • Wildcrafting and sustainable harvesting

  • Exploring the life cycles of various organisms

  • Setting up tents and rigging tarps

  • Packing a backpack efficiently

  • Cooking with a camp stove

  • Practicing Leave No Trace principles

  • Learning bear safety and food storage techniques

  • Understanding the contributions of women and other historical figures in climbing

  • Mastering knots, hitches, rappelling, prusiking, belaying, bouldering, and slacklining



By meeting weekly, students forge strong friendships and develop invaluable skills. Every lesson is designed to gear them up for thrilling weekend trips or nurture a deep sense of stewardship!

Service Projects

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Participating in service outings helps students develop empathy, broaden their perspectives, and gain a deeper understanding of both their community and the social and environmental challenges it faces.

Regular service activities at CORE include:

  • Food Packaging

  • Trail Maintenance

  • Recycling Projects
     

Through these experiences, students come to understand the impact of their actions and decisions on others and the environment. This fosters the awareness and responsibility needed to shape the leaders of tomorrow, all while contributing to the betterment of the community. CORE integrates service opportunities into the schedule, either as part of a weekend trip or during a special weekly meeting.

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Wilderness Expeditions

Immersion in nature plays a vital role in promoting mental well-being, reducing stress, and enhancing overall happiness. Each year, CORE’s oldest group of students, the "Amphibians," are given two incredible opportunities for extended wilderness adventures.

During spring break, CORE takes these students on a five-day backpacking journey. The summer expedition, lasting up to 3 weeks, varies each year but  adventures such as:

  • Backpacking through California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains

  • Canoeing expansive rivers in Northern Canada

  • Rock climbing in Wyoming and Idaho
     

The middle groups, the "Frogs and Salamanders," also have the chance to participate in the annual spring break backpacking trip, along with a five-day summer expedition closer to home.

Spending extended time in the wilderness provides invaluable benefits for youth, including fostering personal growth, resilience, and self-confidence as they face and overcome challenges in a natural environment. It also enhances teamwork and communication skills, as students collaborate through shared experiences and group activities.

"CORE teaches kids to cheer each other on, lift each other up, and work hard together to achieve their goals. CORE builds positive self esteem and surrounds my daughter with positive role models. We love this community!" - Shea Magill (CORE Parent)

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Morganton, NC 28655

MorgantonCORE@gmail.com

For additional details or to become a member, please get in touch. 

 

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