JR. RANGER JAMBOREE & LAKE JAMES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION FIELD TRIP

The Lake James Environmental Association planned and hosted a fun weekend of outdoor activities for high schoolers, Oct. 6-8. The weekend started with a boat ride to the Long Arm Peninsula to set up camp and learn the basics of sleeping in the woods. Field trips and hiking soon followed, with a 3-mile trek to the Lake James State Park visitor center, cheering on the Dragon Boat Festival paddlers, participating in the annual Catawba RiverSweep effort with around 84 pounds of non-plastic and 16 pounds of plastic refuse removed from the Fonta Flora State Trail. Educational sessions on firenecology, waterway erosion, the Cabo Rojo Puerto Rico Nature Preserve and emerging contaminants in the Lake James watershed, rounded out the weekend.