In 2011, Sultana Projects will be making a significant expansion to its paddling programs. Currently, Sultana Projects provides educational canoe trips for approximately 500 students annually through its John Smith Trail Expeditions program. Established in 2008, the Expeditions program provides local students the opportunity to explore portions of the new 2,500-mile Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail on tributaries located within close proximity to their schools. Sultana’s Expeditions program has met with significant success and has operated at capacity for the past two years. In order to meet the excessive demand, Sultana Projects recently purchased a mobile rig of 16 kayaks to complement its existing 10-canoe rig. The new kayak rig will be used to provide educational programs for middle-school, high-school and adult groups, while the canoe rig will continue to be used primarily for elementary school groups. The purchase of Sultana Projects’ new kayak rig was made possible by a generous grant from the Davenport Family Foundation.
As part of the expansion of its paddling programs, Sultana Projects also plans to hire three additional staff in 2011, including a full-time Director of Educational Programs (click here for Job Description) and two seasonal educational staff. Through the addition of these new positions, Sultana Projects plans to increase its canoe/kayak program capacity by 300% over the next three years.
The first major expansion of Sultana Projects’ paddling programs will take place in the summer of 2011, when the organization will offer week-long kayaking trips as part of its Chesapeake Adventures summer program. Chesapeake Adventures provides a variety of educational trips on the Chesapeake Bay – including live-aboard trips on the schooner Sultana – for students ages 11-14. The new Chesapeake Adventures kayak programs will consist of week-long trips that will see participants paddle on several major rivers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, including the Sassafras, Chester, Choptank, Nanticoke, and Pocomoke rivers. Official dates and locations for all of Sultana Projects’ Chesapeake Adventures programs will be announced in January of 2011.
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