“It’s an opportunity for faculty and staff to learn something new in a controlled environment," said Nancy Harrington, coordinator of UAB Adventure Rec, shown here in the Shenandoah National Park while hiking the Appalachian Trail. "They just sign up, and we’ll do the rest.”
Beginning in September, UAB Adventure Recreation’s experienced staff will take groups of UAB employees and students on outdoor trips across the Southeast, from North Carolina to Florida. Participants play a flat rate for transportation and equipment rental.
Eleven of the 12 trips are open to faculty and staff, with prices ranging from $20 for a day of mountain biking at Birmingham’s Oak Mountain State Park to $210 for a six-day trip to Florida to canoe 40 miles down the Suwannee River.
Nancy Harrington joined UAB June 1 as coordinator of Adventure Recreation. She earned her master of education degree from the University of Houston in May, and prior to that worked in outdoor recreation for three years, guiding hiking and camping groups to places such as Alaska, California and the Appalachian Trail.
She said that Adventure Recreation’s trips are the perfect opportunity for employees to learn new skills in a controlled environment.
“It’s an opportunity for faculty and staff to learn something new in a controlled environment,” Harrington said. “They get a break from their Monday-Friday jobs and don’t have to plan the trips. They just sign up and we’ll do the rest.”
Adventure Recreation’s first trip, to the Cohutta Wilderness in Georgia followed by whitewater rafting the Ocoee River in Tennessee Sept. 9-10, is a freshman-only venture and costs $30.
Several of the trips require attendance at a pre-trip meeting, which are held 6 p.m. the Wednesday prior to each trip in Campus Recreation Center Room 192.
See the full list of fall trips available from Adventure Recreation online or click the below image to print a PDF.
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