Outdoor Adventures for All on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail

Beyond Boundaries is a Richmond, VA-based nonprofit that provides outdoor recreation activities and environmental education opportunities to individuals with disabilities, youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, veterans, and individuals in substance recovery. The organization is committed to making outdoor activities like fishing, paddling, rock climbing, hiking, adventuring, and boating accessible to everyone, regardless of ability or economic situation.

Kayakers on the Captain John Smith National Historic Trail on the James River. Photo courtesy of Beyond Boundaries.

With support from a National Park Foundation ParkVentures grant, Beyond Boundaries, in collaboration with National Park Service staff at Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (CJSCNHT) and partner organizations, is providing outdoor recreation activities, including overnight camping for people of all ability levels, pontooning, kayaking, and fishing on the trail, and a six-week Adventure Club program for youth with disabilities. 

Local NPS staff have been working with Beyond Boundaries to provide trail-specific content to participants, including on the history of Indigenous people in the region and information about the environment of the local waterways. Beyond Boundaries also partners with around 30 community-based organizations that work with individuals with disabilities, disadvantaged youth, veterans, and others, to help implement its programming. Some individuals involved with partner organizations join in outdoor adventures with Beyond Boundaries.

Building Skills and Confidence Through Adventure

The overnight camping experiences engage diverse groups - ranging from individuals with Autism or Down syndrome to people who use mobility devices like wheelchairs and walkers. The groups participate in outdoor adventures while challenging themselves mentally and physically and making new friends.

Activities include hikes, fishing, environmental education, shelter building, and first aid and safety lessons. One of the overnight camping experiences was specifically for adults with Autism, where they partnered with the Autism Society of Central Virginia and spent the weekend bonding while fishing, shooting archery, and hiking together. Social activities don't happen all that often for individuals with disabilities, especially if those opportunities are in nature.

Beyond Boundaries rafters on the Captain John Smith National Historic Trail on the James River. Photo courtesy of Beyond Boundaries.

Grant funding supported Beyond Boundaries the ability to partner with the Autism Society of Central Virginia to run overnight camping experiences for kids and adults with Autism alongside their families. Funds also will go towards a weekend for veterans to spend time bonding, camping, rock climbing, and white-water paddling during the spring and fall of 2024. 

The Adventure Club connected with young people each week throughout spring 2024 to learn outdoor safety and environmental stewardship and gain exploration skills and empowerment. Club members progressed from one level to the next, learning new skills in camping, knots, first aid, safety, and survival along the way. Grant funding supported three groups in completing the intro level to learn about the outdoors and how to safely recreate with friends and family. 

Both programs reduced barriers and challenges for individuals to participate in outdoor recreation by working with partner organizations to facilitate transportation logistics, covering the costs of programs, supplying equipment, and providing experienced staff instruction. Participants found that they challenged themselves in new ways and grew physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially over the course of their programs, gaining self-confidence, skills, and friends.