Students in RCC’s TRAILS program get field practice on campus. RCC just received a $15,000 grant for the program from the Duke Energy Foundation.
WENTWORTH – Rockingham Community College’s TRAILS program has received a $15,000 Duke Energy Foundation Nature Grant.
It is not the first time Duke Energy has shown strong support of TRAILS – an acronym for “Trail Recreation and Adventure Institute for Leadership and Service.” The company provided a $700,000 gift to begin the program in April 2017, the first community college recreational program of its kind in the region. It is designed to teach valuable hands-on skills while remaining grounded in learning through service-inspired leadership.
TRAILS Director Dr. Trevor Flanery applied for the grant seeking funds for adaptive technology to take the TRAILS program virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He plans to purchase outdoor equipment such as a drone, sport camera, mountain bike, etc. to film video for webinars. The money will also provide instructor subsidies and student scholarships for five webinars and/or hybrid online and outside classes.
“I want to work with RCC’s Distance Learning Department, other RCC programs, and community partners to make these webinars worthy of this continuing investment from Duke Energy,” Flanery said.
The Duke Energy Foundation awarded a total of $522,400 in grants this week to 22 organizations, including RCC, to fund environmental projects creating access to nature and protecting species, habitats and water quality in North Carolina.
