Getting kids fit and fascinated with nature

CAMDEN, SC – Getting kids fit and fascinated with the natural world around them was Global Eco Adventures’ mission yesterday as the GEA team led seven students from Kershaw county schools through the paces of its first-ever Childhood Fitness through Environmental Training (CFET) program, Saturday.

The day began with a period of classroom instruction at the Mullikin Law Firm complex in Camden, where GEA pres. Tom Mullikin outlined the program going forward and discussed the various flora and fauna native to the Palmetto State where students will explore and expand their awareness of the environment while participating in increasing-distance hikes.

An environmental attorney, university professor, and global expedition leader, Mullikin shared a bit of his own story – a quest to become the first human to climb the world’s seven great summits and SCUBA-dive in all five of the world’s five oceans. He has thus far climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest peak), Mt. Elbrus (Europe’s highest peak), Mt. Kosciuscko (Australia’s highest peak), Mt. Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere), and summits across North America. He has already logged dives in every ocean on earth.

Mullikin, who also serves as commander of the S.C. State Guard, says his passion for the environment began when he was in the fourth grade and a member of the school ecology club.

Building on his own love for the outdoors and inspiring his students with the same, Mullikin led his first CFET group to the Lake Wateree State Park, east-northeast of Winnsboro, for the first of many nature hikes. The Lake Wateree hike was a mere 1.2 miles, followed by lunch along the lake shoreline.

“This is designed to be a fun program, so we will start out easy,” says Mullikin. “The key to it all is inspiring within the students a passion for the environment and – as a result – reshaping their priorities toward a lifestyle of healthy eating and physical activity.”

Selected from among S.C. Middle Schools, the students will participate in a variety of hikes and activities at S.C.’s national and state parks culminating in a graduation hike up North Carolina’s Mt. Mitchell; at 6,684 feet, the highest summit on the east coast of the U.S.

Sponsors of the CFET program so far are Congaree National Park, Sesquicentennial State Park, Richland County Sheriff’s Dept., Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, The Backpacker, Wade Culler Roofing, East Coast SpecialTees, Mullikin Law Firm and others.

Global Eco Adventures (GEA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Visit GEA at http://globalecoadventures.org.