Their bags are packed and their gear is ready for what will be an adventure of a life time for a group of Brevard College students and professors.

On Saturday, May 16, the Brevard College (North Carolina) Voice of the Rivers (VOR) team will embark on a more than 400-mile kayak expedition that will snake from North to South Carolina and end in the Atlantic Ocean.

This year, two Brevard College faculty members and 11 students will paddle the length of the Catawba-Wateree watershed, beginning on the Catawba River near Linville Gorge, N.C., and ending at the Atlantic Ocean in Charleston, S.C.  The Catawba-Wateree watershed was selected for the College’s fifth VOR expedition after being recognized by American Rivers as America’s most endangered river in 2008.

During their 18-day trip, the group will study about rivers and their importance to society, while camping along the riverbank and talking about their experiences with the people they meet. Plans are under way for VOR members to talk with school programs, media organizations, and conservation groups in North and South Carolina as the group makes its way to the sea.

The VOR students—whose majors include art, environmental science, English, elementary education, business and organizational leadership, theatre, music and wilderness leadership and experiential education—are also required to post daily journal entries, photos and videos of their travels and experiences online using Facebook, blogs, and the college website.

Student expedition members include freshman Thomas Allison of Hickory, N.C.; junior Jenny Baxter of Carthage, Tenn.; junior Jennifer Gift of Durham, N.C.; junior Charles Jordan of Athens, Ga.; sophomore Patrick Lawrence of Grand Rapids, Mich.; sophomore Karen Love of Greenville, S.C.; freshman Jordan Martin of Waxhaw, N.C.; senior Dean Mobley of  Brevard, N.C.; freshman Kelli Tysinger of Lewisville, N.C.; sophomore Kim Williams of Melbourne Beach, Fla.; and sophomore Jay Wolfe of Spartanburg, S.C.

Team leaders are Brevard College Assistant Professor of Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education Robert Dye and Assistant Professor of English Kristina Holland.

Brevard College junior John Palmer of Great Barrington, Mass., is handling logistics for this year’s trip.

Since its inaugural 1997 expedition from Brevard, N.C., to the Gulf of Mexico, the Voice of the Rivers program at Brevard College has offered students and faculty an opportunity to paddle and study a variety of ecologically and culturally significant rivers. 

The VOR experience—which combines academics with outdoor exploration—is designed to educate the public and raise awareness of activities that threaten rivers; bring attention to organizations and groups poised to address those threats; and foster a sense of stewardship and community activity among the students who participate. 

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina in Brevard, N.C., Brevard College offers a range of distinctive baccalaureate degree programs.  The VOR program embodies the College’s commitment to a liberal arts education that is interdisciplinary and experiential.  Past VOR expeditions include trips down the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi rivers; the Green River; the Rio Santa Cruz, Rio Limay and Rio Negro rivers in Patagonia, Argentina; and the Savannah River.