Duplin leaders pivotal in getting NC youth outdoors

WALLACE — Nine years ago, Jimmy Dixon, who represents Duplin County in the N.C. House of Representatives, was determined to get more kids off of computer and phone screens and into the great outdoors. Last Tuesday night, May 14, he was awarded for his efforts by the North Carolina Youth Outdoors Engagement Commission.

Dixon received the Founding Legislator Award from the commission, which held its first-ever NC Youth Outdoors Engagement Invitational at the River Landing Clubhouse in Wallace.

In 2015, Dixon sponsored House Bill 640, the North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Act, which created what is now known as the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission.

“By 2015, it had become evident that kids were spending less time outdoors and more time indoors on screens,” said Justin Burr, executive director of the NC Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission. “Lawmakers knew that that couldn’t go unchecked. Studies are frequently being published that demonstrate the negative effects of excessive screen time on the mental and physical health and overall well-being of youth and adults. Our commission is working to reverse those trends for students across the state. Since being established, the commission has taken seriously the task of encouraging less screen time, and more green time in North Carolina.”

The commission does this through offering NC Go Outside grants to schools and nonprofit organizations to take students on outdoors field trips. “We also provide grants to fund construction of on-campus outdoor education-based structures,” Burr said. “So field trips take students kayaking or hiking at a local state park, to the zoo, or to an outdoor shooting range to learn gun skills and shooting safety. We have provided schools the opportunity to construct everything from an outdoor classroom or a greenhouse to an archery range.”

There’s also the newest program, the Trailblazers Club. “It was established in 2023 as an after-school club with a goal of giving students outdoor experiences that may not be accessible to them otherwise,” Burr explained.

A patch program also allows youth to earn patches for accomplishing individual challenges like catching their first fish, shooting their first squirrel or demonstrating proficiency in archery. There were a total of 2,755 patches awarded in 2023.

All of these programs combined have reached more than 280,000 youth throughout the state in 98 counties since the commission began in 2019. More than $9.1 million in grants have been awarded to schools and nonprofit organizations by the commission.

“Without this guy right here, this wouldn’t have happened,” said Wendell “Dell” Murphy, Jr., chairman of the NC Youth Outdoors Engagement Commission, before handing the Founding Legislator Award to Jimmy Dixon. “Rep. Dixon said I’m going to take this on, I’m going to put something on that’s going to be lasting in North Carolina, and it’s gonna be this organization that you are all here representing tonight.”

After receiving the award, Dixon said, “This is a great honor. As Speaker Moore said, we were delighted to be able to work with a lot of people and there are two of them here that remain behind the scenes, but I’m going to recognize them here: Nelson Freeman and Cameron Boltes. They work hard.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he continued. “America is going to need saving again. And if we don’t fulfill our responsibilities to the next generation, we will not be honoring the heritage that we have of great men and women who have gone before us so that we have the magnificent privilege of prosperity.”

Also at the May 14 event, Legislators Sen. Brent Jackson (Bladen, Duplin, Jones, Pender and Sampson Counties), Sen. Jim Perry (Beaufort, Craven and Lenoir Counties), Rep. John Bell (Wayne County), and Rep. Jason Saine (Lincoln County) were awarded Legislator of the Year honors for their work in helping the commission to come about and be successful.

Speaker of the House Tim Moore, who represents Cleveland and Rutherford counties, was also honored during the event for his work with the commission.

And finally, three statewide leaders — Bob Barnhill, Richard Childress and Eddie Smith, Jr. — were the first inductees into the NC Outdoors Hall of Fame.

For more on the commission, visit https://gooutside.nc.gov/ .