探索校园外的生活

Carolina has a notably beautiful campus with much to offer, but the college experience isn’t limited to that space. North Carolina boasts a landscape waiting to be explored, 和北卡罗来纳大学校园娱乐’s 卡罗莱纳的探险 program aims to introduce students to it.

“Expeditions not only provides an opportunity for Tar Heels to get outside and enjoy themselves, 但我们也提供价格合理的, accessible opportunities for students to try a new outdoor activity in a way that is less intimidating than learning on your own,” says 卡罗莱纳的探险 coordinator Ashley Fox.

卡罗莱纳探险队 announced its spring trip schedule. Students can sign up to go hiking, 攀爬, 皮划艇, paddleboarding, 背包旅行和更多.

“We provide the peer leaders that have all the skills to lead groups outside, 我们提供所有的装备, 食物, transportation — everything they need to get out there and take a leap of faith and go for it,小狐说。.

卡罗莱纳的探险 is big on “experiential education,” or learning with your hands. That means leaving your phone behind — metaphorically, at least.

“We really try to distance participants from technology,小狐说。. “We let people bring their phones, but we ask that they only use them for photos.”

This helps foster a deeper in-person connection — not only with nature but with other participants on the trip. “In the end, students always say, ‘Thank you for not letting me be on my phone,’小狐说。.

玛丽莎阿拉姆, a senior double majoring in psychology and human development and family studies, has worked at 卡罗莱纳的探险 since the start of the pandemic, when everything was put on hold. Now that the program is hosting trips again, she can’t wait to get outside with her fellow Tar Heels.

“I have a huge passion for being outside,” she says. “I’m looking forward to showing people the outdoors.”

Beyond local day trips and the two-night backpacking trip, 卡罗莱纳的探险 also offers a five-day excursion for first-year and transfer students called Carolina Compass. For anyone who has been curious about an extended stay outside, it’s an ideal chance to try backpacking and camping because 卡罗莱纳的探险 handles the heavy lifting.

Whether it’s a day of 皮划艇 or 攀爬 or a longer journey into the wilderness, 卡罗莱纳的探险 helps students learn more about North Carolina’s lush, natural landscape —and themselves. Alam says, “It’s a really cool thing that Carolina has.”

See Carolina Expedition’s spring calendar and register for a trip