Kids unplug with outdoor programs

While some Vestavia Hills elementary students might be heading off to more traditional sports like soccer or tennis this fall, Treeline Expeditions LLC offers kids the unique opportunity to spend time after school paddling the Cahaba River. 

Treeline Expeditions, created seven years ago by Bill and Suzanne Andrews, is an eco-tour guide service that encourages locals, especially children and families, to get outside and explore through after-school activities and other outdoor and backpacking trips. 

The family-run company caters to Vestavia students by offering to pick them up at the Piggly Wiggly on Montgomery Highway at around 3:30 p.m., right after school during the school year. By 4 p.m., they’re unloading into kayaks at the Cahaba River for an hour and a half of water time.

“We were trying to find a way for kids to just be unplugged and not go home and sit in front of the TV or Xbox,” Bill Andrews said, and instead “learn how to take care of nature and also just enjoy it and be kids again.”

Bill and Suzanne Andrews, both fifth-grade teachers at Mountain Brook Elementary, know firsthand how demanding school is and how stir-crazy kids can get after spending most of the day cooped up in classrooms. 

“One of the things I feel is that kids grow up too fast, and they don’t have that time to just enjoy,” Bill Andrews said.

One of their most popular after-school activities that tends to fill up quickly, Bill Andrews said, is paddling on kayaks. Many students have found a home in their small group of paddlers.

A couple times a week, parents can sign their kids up for paddling with Treeline Expeditions through their website. The pick-up service is offered to the Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia school systems. 

Treeline Expeditions accepts kids ages 7 through 11. Groups usually range from six to eight kids, Bill Andrews said, depending on if he has another guide helping him. They keep the groups intentionally small so the students can get plenty of help and attention. Usually, they paddle down the river at a popular launch spot along Overton Road, although sometimes they paddle at spots down U.S. 280, Bill Andrews said. 

Other after-school programs they occasionally have include “Adventures,” which varies with hiking, geocaching, outdoor skills and hands-on science and STEM activities, as well as “Mountain Biking,” where kids pedal the trails at Oak Mountain State Park and Red Mountain Park. 

Bill Andrews said they have kids of all levels of confidence come to the after-school programs. Some are familiar with paddling from lake house trips or the beach, he added, while others have never been on any kind of boat or kayak. 

“One really cool part is I had a guy in the fall who had never paddled or anything, and by the end of around November, he was teaching everybody else how to do it, so just that confidence is kind of cool,” Bill Andrews said. 

In case some kids are not yet able to control one alone, tandem boats are also provided. Bill Andrews begins each session by addressing water safety and distributing life jackets. Then they start with the basics, he said, like how to work the paddle, move the boats forward and then how to turn and go back. 

“It’s amazing. Kids pick it up so quickly,” Bill Andrews said. 

He said they always start in an area where the water is calm, and they don’t have to worry about a current. After everyone gets the hang of it, they move to areas with a little more current, and he teaches them how to read and navigate the current in a safe way. 

Over the years, he said he has come to realize how important it is for both kids and adults to unplug, put down their cell phone and just be in the moment in nature. 

“We started off focusing on kids, but we are trying to grow and focus more on kids, families and adults just because it’s been so beneficial,” he added. 

During the summers, Treeline Expeditions also offers 10-day backpacking trips.

There are two pricing options for after-school paddling and activities. For one afternoon, it is $35 for transportation from the school to the river, paddling instructions and usage of the boat, paddle and life jacket; and for one month of unlimited after-school paddles, it’s $140. After the paddling session is over, Bill Andrews drops the kids off back at the pick-up location.

To sign up for the paddle program or learn about their other programs, go to treeline-expeditions.com or email bill@treeline-expeditions.com.