ABOUT US
OUR MISSION: Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education seeks to educate youth and adults in order to make personal, ecological and social connections with the importance of the wild, pristine, and natural spaces of Lake Jocassee and the Jocassee Gorges ecoregion.
Our Story Begins
Brooks and Kay Wade founded Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education in 2018 with the help of many local naturalist friends. Their mission of education and connection to wild and natural outdoor spaces applies to all ages, with a special emphasis on providing opportunities for local youth.
The Jocassee Gorges provide the perfect outdoor classroom for children and adults to learn about this unique and important intersection of Carolina mountains and piedmont.
The nonprofit has three areas of interest: Loon Research, the Jocassee Wild Naturalist Program and the Jocassee Wild Child Program. All programs use beautiful Lake Jocassee as the entryway into the Jocassee Gorges. All funding raised from donations are applied to the Jocassee Wild Child program.
Our Vision
Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education will inspire youth and adults to make deep, lasting connections to wilderness areas, and to preserve, protect, and share beautiful wild areas like the Jocassee Gorges for generations to come.
our story continues...
In 2020, Kerry McKenzie joined the team as Director of the Jocassee Wild Child program. With Kerry’s energy, enthusiasm, and experience, JWC has grown exponentially into a “must do” program for elementary and middle schools in Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson counties.
“Our goal is to provide a place for people to learn about the Jocassee Gorges as a unique and critically important ecoregion,” Kay Wade says. “You can learn about geology, mountain building, the water cycle, stream ecology, the gorges important role in climate change, hydroelectric energy, and rainforest ecology.”
The nonprofit operates with a director and a small crew of dedicated part-time employees. Volunteers are also vital to our programs. Volunteers assist with raising funds, researching and writing grants, and helping with communication and public outreach.
The Jocassee Wild
Outdoor Education Team
The Founders, Educators, Experts, and Advisors That Make Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education Possible
Board of directors
Brooks Wade
Founder
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I started Jocassee Lake Tours for the simplest of reasons. Love of place. Having found the most beautiful place I had ever seen, I wanted nothing more than to find a way to spend as many days as possible on the lake, buried deep in the Jocassee Gorges. Fortunately, I went through the Upstate Master Naturalist program the same year and began to learn just how extraordinary this place is. My motivation soon grew to include sharing this place of wonder with as many people as I could reach, realizing that people who love a place protect and care for that place. I have had a life-long concern for the quality of childhood education and studied at a graduate level both elementary level science and math education and philosophy of education. Jocassee Lake Tours has been an environmental education enterprise from the start. Jocassee Wild allows us to become more directly involved in the environmental education of both youth and adults, a perfect culmination of years of hard and satisfying work.
Jay Browder
Board Member
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Jay brings more than 25 years of experience as an Area Sales and Marketing Manager in the semiconductor industry to his work with Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education. On the Board, he focuses on fundraising and community outreach, while also sharing his creative talents in logo and art design, children’s storytelling, and marketing—especially through publications that highlight Jocassee Wild Outdoor Education’s mission.
Kay Wade
Founder
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I am co-owner of Jocassee Lake Tours with husband Brooks. I came to the Carolina mountains as a young person to attend school at Western Carolina University and fell in love with being outside. I worked hard all my adult life as a professional gardener and garden designer from the NC mountains to the Florida coast and back to the mountains of SC. For several years I wrote a weekly newspaper column on environmental and ecological challenges related to the so-called “green industry” in Florida. In 2012 I retired from gardening to join husband Brooks in expanding the reach of Jocassee Lake Tours. We offer students of all ages a wide range of nature studies by way of the perfect outdoor classroom, the Jocassee Gorges, accessible only by the blue avenue of Lake Jocassee.
Educators
Kerry Mckenzie
Director
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Kerry McKenzie is the Director of the Jocassee Wild Child Outdoor Lab Experiences team, where she leads immersive outdoor learning adventures that connect thousands of children each year to the wonders of Lake Jocassee and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
With more than 20 years of experience in education, Kerry blends her background in psychology, physical education, child development, and health education with a deep love for the outdoors. She holds a Master’s degree from West Virginia University and began her career training future teachers in physical education and early childhood motor development. Over the years, she has designed award-winning programs that inspire children and families to embrace healthy, active lifestyles through movement, nature, and hands-on exploration.
As a Certified Upstate Master Naturalist and Jocassee Wild Naturalist, Kerry brings unique expertise in interpreting the rare ecology and cultural history of the Jocassee Gorges. Her vision for Jocassee Wild Child is rooted in the belief that every child—regardless of background—deserves the opportunity to experience wild places, spark curiosity, and build a lifelong connection to the natural world.
Kerry lives in Pickens, South Carolina, with her husband, David, and their much-loved pets. Together, they spend their days exploring and protecting the lands and waters they are proud to call home.
Steve Lewis
Jocassee Wild Child Educator
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Steve Lewis is a Statewide South Carolina Master Naturalist and career educator. He has worked in a variety of educational settings, and has taught students from kindergarten to college. He earned a B.A. in English from Davidson College, an M.A. in Special Education from UNC-Charlotte, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Clemson University. For most of his career, he taught in the Pickens County School District as a middle school English and Communication teacher. His lifelong interest in natural history was sparked by explorations in a nearby creek, and fueled by walks in the woods. He has a particular interest in natural communities, and exploring the relationships between living organisms (which of course leads to an interest in how the landforms, minerals, and weather interact with everything else). He is currently working to restore his yard to provide habitat for as many living things as possible. There are currently hundreds of native plant and animal species that spend some time passing through the chaotic and somewhat weedy half acre that he tries to manage.
brad elder
Jocassee Wild Child Educator
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I am the Assistant Operations Manager and Shop Foreman at Jocassee Lake Tours. I love teaching kids about the outdoors, and getting them off their screens and into the wild.
Matthew Stamey
Jocassee Wild Child Educator
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Matt Stamey was born and raised in Anderson, SC, and now lives in Walhalla, SC. Matt’s love for the outdoors was fostered by a childhood spent hiking, paddling, and biking outdoors with his family. That love was cemented through Matt’s involvement with scouting, exposing him to other ways to connect with nature like backpacking, mountain biking, and rock climbing on his way to earning the rank of Eagle Scout.
Matt graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Environmental and Natural Resources with a concentration in Conservation Biology in 2022. Outside of work, he is likely outside biking, rock climbing, hiking, or slacklining. The only thing he may love more than being outdoors is helping other people connect with nature in their own ways. Whether through education or recreation, Matt hopes to share his passion for the outdoor world with others so that they may understand the importance of protecting and conserving our outdoor resources.
Matt works with Jocassee Lake Tours and Jocassee Wild Child, and tries his best to combine his love for outdoor adventure with his knowledge and appreciation of the incredible ecoregion we have the privilege of working in. He hopes to teach others about the lake and surrounding gorges in order to deepen their understanding of, and commitment to, this incredible Appalachian ecosystem.
Tricia kyzer
Jocassee Wild Child Educator
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Tricia Kyzer is a naturalist, writer and environmental educator. She has a BA in Elementary Education from North Greenville University and holds a Statewide Master Naturalist Certification as well as a Palmetto Environmental Educator Certification. For the past 20 years Tricia has worked with people of all ages leading them into making their own connections to our wild places, from classroom teaching to wilderness therapy to curriculum development for nature-based organizations.
She currently works part time with the SC Aquarium as an Educational Leadership Partner and with Jocassee Lake Tours as a naturalist guide and educator. She is also on the Foothills Trail Board of Directors and has thru hiked the trail several times, earning the Peregrine Award. Tricia appreciates the never-ending wonder of the natural world and enjoys spending time outdoors being curious and making new discoveries. One of her bucket list life goals is to have the opportunity to name a lichen in the Jocassee Gorges.
Steve Clark
Jocassee Wild Child Educator
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Steve Clark holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of South Carolina. A lifelong adventurer, he has been an avid outdoorsman, angler, offshore fishing guide, backpacker, hiker, biker, gardener, and naturalist who structures his life around exploring the natural world. While he finds great joy in nature itself, his deepest passion lies in sharing that wonder and teaching others about it.
Sheryl White
Jocassee Wild Child Educator
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Sheryl is a native of Oconee County, SC, and her ancestors are among the earliest settlers of the area surrounding Lake Jocassee. Her father was a Duke Power employee who worked on the construction of Oconee Nuclear Station before moving the family to North Carolina in 1972. Some of Sheryl’s earliest memories are of starry nights camping along the Chattooga River at Burrell’s Ford campground, swimming in the clear, cold mountain lakes during the summer, and spending time outside. College, raising kids, and work occupied her until her children fledged the nest and started their own journeys, and then Sheryl returned to Oconee County to be closer to her parents. You may have seen her around Chattooga Belle Farm, where she works part-time at the farm store, or you may recognize her from her previous job at Head-Lee Nursery. In 2015, she completed the Upstate Master Naturalist program. Sheryl is also a SC Adopt-A-Stream volunteer and regularly monitors two local streams. Currently, she and her mother live in Tamassee Valley, at the base of one of the first wagon trails to climb into the southern Blue Ridge Mountains.
An Educational Jocassee Experience
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