An Outdoor Program Geared Toward Developing Young Leaders

GSTA Outdoor Academy

GSTA Outdoor Leadership Academy

The Gold Star Teen Adventures (GSTA) Outdoor Academy is a comprehensive program that is designed to achieve the pillars of GSTA in wilderness settings. Teens will find their confidence through the numerous challenges that the outdoors have to offer, will develop leadership and teamwork skills, will learn the skills of an outdoorsman, and will make lifelong friendships with other teens that have shared the same experiences. The Outdoor Academy Adventures are held every summer, with each component of training spanning one week. The main components of the program cover a broad range of skills. Our introductory adventure introduces teens to outdoor survival and camping fieldcraft, multi-day hiking, wilderness first aid, and white water rafting.  The second adventure builds on the skills from the first adventure. This program is a week of intense, hands-on activities that will focus on wilderness first aid, advanced land navigation, back-country skills, and leadership training. On our third adventure we will head to the cliffs. This adventures focuses on enhancing the skills of new rock climbers. Teens will be exposed to top-roping, mock lead-climbing, rappelling, multi-pitch climbing, and exposure to rescue techniques. Our fourth adventure will take participants west to explore the rivers of the western dessert environment down the Green River in Utah. Teens will paddle roughly 45 miles in tandem canoes, suitable to carry enough food, water, camping, and cooking equipment to make the paddling experience rugged and authentic.  Our outdoor program is designed to enhance teen’s leadership abilities throughout. This entire experience is life changing, and assured to help teens learn about themselves, and learn and develop skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

Paddle Leadership Adventure 101

CANDOR, NC | JULY 12-18, 2024

Gold Star Teen Adventures (GSTA) will be offering the opportunity for 15 teens to participate in a week of exciting and challenging outdoor activities to include first aid training, learning camping skills, and then put these skills to use on a  multi-day canoe trip that will cover 25 miles of the of the Yadkin River in North Carolina. This event will also focus on developing leadership skills and opportunities for personal growth. Youth will practice and experience exciting outdoor front country and backcountry activities while being individually and collectively challenged with leadership and team building opportunities by qualified and caring staff, instructors, and mentors. Our goal for attending youth is to provide healing, opportunity, character and leadership development, and mentorship. This adventure is a component of the GSTA Outdoor Academy.

 

Swift Water Rescue & Wilderness First Aid Adventure 201

Franklin NC | JULY 19-25, 2024

Get ready for the excitement of the rapids!  This will be a week of intense, hands-on activities that will focus on teaching participants how to manage real life river rescue situations that a paddler might experience using minimal equipment. The group and individuals will get real life scenarios to work through. Teens will also train on backcountry first aid skills and will earn an American Red Cross Wilderness and Remote First Aid and CPR certification, and an American Canoe Association Class IV Swift Water Rescue Certification.

This continues to be one of our most popular adventures, and prepares teens for more advanced GSTA Outdoor Academy paddling adventures!