Student group helps Tar Heels explore the outdoors

Throughout the height of the pandemic, Carolina senior Charles Blanton found that getting outside was a sure way to ease his stress.

Making time to be outside was easy when he was studying remotely and when he was working on a ranch in Colorado. Finding opportunities to connect with nature became a challenge, however, when he returned to campus, so Blanton decided to find a way to remedy that for himself and for other Tar Heels feeling the same way.

“I realized I really missed being outside,” he said. “I looked for outdoor-oriented clubs at UNC, and there was a climbing club and a ski and snowboard club, but there wasn’t a generalist club. I figured, why not take it into my own hands.”

Last fall, Blanton launched the Carolina Outing Club to provide accessible, organized opportunities for Carolina students looking to explore the outdoors. Over the past year, the club has hosted hiking trips, goat yoga sessions, group runs through Chapel Hill, campfires, picnics, climbing excursions and everything in between.

The group, Blanton said, aims to “make the outdoors an accessible, equitable and inclusive space” for all students. Students pay a small fee, and the Carolina Outing Club plans all the trips and provides all the gear for their excursions.

The club works to offer nearly 30 outings a month to attract students of different interests or skill levels to build a new community for Tar Heels.

“I always say there are no prerequisites,” said Elizabeth Orr, a senior and the gear manager for the club. “You don’t have to come from a certain place. You don’t have to have certain abilities. You don’t have to have a certain amount of money to your name. Come as you are. Let’s be friends. That’s all it takes.”

Dohhyun Kim, the group’s acting vice president, said the community-building aspect of the club helped him find a wider group of peers who have become his support network on campus.

“I didn’t have access to transportation, and I wanted access to nature, but it was impossible,” he said. “I found this club, and I got to meet a lot of new friends — people who have similar values as me.”

The club’s leadership team works to strengthen its community with each outing, allowing opportunities for students to not just explore or exercise but also socialize and get to know other members.

“I think one of the beautiful things about the club is how it’s able to make a big campus so much smaller,” Orr said. “Although our club is 450-plus members, that is still a significantly smaller community of similar interested, like-minded people. It really helps that big mountain of entering a college scene seem much more soft.”

No matter the kind of outing, they all consist of one driving goal: providing students a chance to disconnect for a short period.

“Nature is such a nice pause and reset button for us,” said Cate Schultz, a junior and Carolina Outing Club e-staffer who plans the group’s activities. “It allows us such great connections with other people. Joining [the club] has definitely made me prioritize that slowing down aspect — that’s such a good thing to build into your schedule because I always leave refreshed, motivated and inspired.”

Away from their everyday environment, Blanton said, students may have an easier time relaxing and being themselves. It’s something he knows he’s needed and feels all Tar Heels should have an opportunity to do.

“It’s really important to be your authentic self,” he said. “I think in the outdoors, there’s a big mind-body connection, and it really encourages authenticity. I think that’s what is special about our club. You’re away from the textbooks, you’re away from the social pressures, and we encourage you to come as yourself.”

Learn more about the UNC Outing Club and how to get involved