WE INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION – HELP US INVEST IN THE FUTURE
The future of cold, clean rivers and streams depends on a steady stream of advocates and conservationists stepping forward to roll up their sleeves, raise their voices and invest their time and talent. To make this vision a reality, the Unaka Chapter dedicates hundreds of hours a year connecting kids to the outdoors, providing meaningful watershed and environmental education opportunities and mentoring burgeoning young conservationists.
Our youth education work relies on volunteers and supporters to be successful and thanks to all of you, we are able to:
- Run Trout In the Classroom programs in 10+ schools, reaching more than 2000 students each year
- Partner with Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts to offer merit badge support and our STREAM Girls program
- Lead youth and family fishing days across the region and support summer camps with fly fishing and tying
Last year, we held a total of 10 youth events and programs and reached more than 2000 students, scouts and campers in the classroom and out in the woods learning about our shared responsibility to care for and recover our local waters.
Support our youth education work today! As an all-volunteer organization, we need your time, expertise and donations to continue our great work!
HEADWATERS YOUTH PROGRAM
TU’s Headwaters Youth Program contains a developmental model called the “Stream of Engagement” that strives to provide opportunities for involvement at all ages and interest levels. Some programs like Trout in the Classroom and STREAM Girls put a heavy focus on watershed-based STEM learning, while others like the TU Summer Trout Camps and Academies serve as Fly Fishing 101 experiences for teen participants. With an evolving high school club program and college capstone called the TU 5 Rivers on over 100 college campuses across the U.S. we are keeping youth connected to conservation into adulthood.
Headwaters also offers youth memberships, Stream Explorers (ages 12 and under) and TU Teens (ages 13 to 17), that contain fun elements such as a trout-focused kids’ magazine, Stream Explorers and Teen stickers, and fun premium items like hats, books and logoed youth fly rods.
Learn more at www.tu.org/headwaters
Rivercourse:
Rivercourse is North Carolina Trout Unlimited’s Cold Water Conservation and Youth Fly-Fishing Camp…
Established in 2002, the Rivercourse Coldwater Conservation & Fly Fishing Youth Camp is sponsored by the North Carolina State Council of Trout Unlimited and emphasizes Trout Unlimited’s Mission – the conservation, restoration and preservation of coldwater fisheries and their watersheds – while teaching campers the basics of fly fishing, a sport for a lifetime.
Rivercourse is a high quality experience for boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 15 and takes place in the heart of the Appalachian mountains at the Lake Logan Event Center near Canton, N.C. This pristine setting includes a section of the West Fork of the Pigeon River, which is privately owned and stocked with trout for the use of the camp.
While flyfishing is the camp’s primary activity focus, campers get to enjoy some other unique, often once-in-a-lifetime experience, such as releasing a raptor (like a hawk) and catching it when it returns, outside games, visits with conservation officials, fish sampling and many others.
During the Summer Camp, sessions on a variety of topics are mixed into the day. Geology, fish and insect sampling, scientific and natural encounters; all things related to the things in the natural world around us and cultivating a better understanding of them and how precious they are.
And throughout the camp there are plenty of sessions where we just have fun fishing together and getting to know each other and building enduring friendships, gaining a deeper appreciation of the majesty of nature while learning to love a sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.
The camp is open to all young men and women ages 12-15.
Campers do not have to be North Carolina residents or Trout Unlimited members to attend.
****Dates: June 8-13, 2025
Our Goals For Campers
To leave with a lasting appreciation of the importance of preserving and protecting our environment.
To become committed as an active participant in efforts to ensure clean water and habitat for generations to come.
To learn about fly fishing, get outside, make friends and have a great time at camp.
Camp Highlights:
- Trout Unlimited Mission
- Basics of Fly Fishing
- Equipment
- Water Safety & Stream Etiquette
- Fly Tying & Knots
- Fly Casting Essentials
- Entomology & Flies
- Fishing the Pigeon River
For Registration, Volunteering and Making Donations go to: https://www.NCTURivercourse.com
