SHORELINES

16 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2016 Vol :3 Jim Felder was tickled to death as he watched the number of kayakers and canoers statewide explode. Felder is executive director of the Alabama Scenic River Trail (ASRT), one of the nation's longest dedicated waterways with access points and overnight camping for padlers. The trail stretches from the entrance of the Coosa River at the northeast Alabama- Georgia line to Fort Morgan at the Gulf of Mexico. Commissioned by the Alabama Legislature in 2006, the trail and its 650-mile core and 5,000 miles of tributaries brought kayaks out of the woodwork, as well as the ancillary businesses catering to them, such as outfitters. The number of Alabamians who are recreational paddlers rose from zero to more than 10 percent from 2004 to 2016, according to a state recreational survey; outfitters blossomed from less than 10 in 2009 to 50 in 2016. But there was a problem as Felder watched more and more kayakers get in the water. "There were a lot of gray heads," he says. Eager to use the momentum of the growing popularity of paddling to attract a younger crowd, Felder and ASRT president Fred Couch brainstormed how to invent the wheel. The result: RiverKids. Felder wrote a curriculum on how to teach kids ages 9 to 18 to kayak safely and have the time of their lives floating the trail. Using an informal headquarters in Prattville with the Autauga Creek Improvement Committee, the ASRT taught hundreds of children through RiverKids. With the success came the natural itch to establish training centers like Autauga Creek across the state. The prospect of growing had growing pains: how to organize and track registration; how to meet various insurance requirements; how to standardize instruction; how to find qualified instructors. Meantime, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System's (ACES) 4-H program was thinking along the same lines. "As far as 4-H goes, they had been conducting research in Alabama that told them the most desired activity was paddling and water sports, but they didn't have a real paddling program," Felder recalls. "We had a real paddling program but no way to insure, administer or add educational components to it. Combining 4-H and RiverKids was a perfect move for both organizations." Just as perfect was who would be in charge of what would be rebranded 4-H RiverKids: Emily Nichols, Left: Photo by Joe deScioSe — Jim Felder and Aidan Paul assist Andrew Paul into his kayak. Centerfold: Photo by Joe deScioSe – 4-H Riverkids Aidan Paul and Andrew Paul paddle their kayaks down the Coosa River. "IT'S SUCH GOOD EXERCISE AND IT IS GREAT TO SEE THE CHILDREN BEING OUTSIDE. … THE LEADERS ARE GREAT WITH THE KIDS TEACHING THEM SAFET Y AS WELL AS RESPONSIBILIT Y, ALL THE WHILE LET TING THEM HAVE A GREAT TIME." – K I M W IL S O N, W H O SE D A U GH T ER GR ACE TO O K PA R T IN 4 - H R I V ER K ID S T R A ININ G AT BEES WA X CR EEK PA R K L A ND IN G. 4-H RiverKids T HE A L A B A M A S C E NIC R I V E R T R A IL A ND 4 - H C R E AT E A P RO GR A M T O AT T R AC T A ND T R A IN A YOUNGE R C RO W D OF PA DDL E R S.

• Cover