Promoting Nature-Based Tourism for 25 Years
About Us
The South Carolina Nature-Based Tourism Association (SCNBTA) is a registered not-for-profit organization 501(c) 3 and was formed in 1994 to educate and promote its members and the nature-based tourism experience.
SCNBTA strives to be the trusted and respected leader in South Carolina’s nature-based tourism while promoting the wise use of our state’s natural resources.
Its mission is to support the enhancement of nature-based tourism in South Carolina by facilitating networking, professional development, and educational opportunities for its members.
To achieve this, the organization:
- Facilitates networking events and educational opportunities for its members.
- Enhances the association through a strong and engaged membership.
- Supports the sustainable, low-impact use of our state’s natural/cultural resources for economic benefits.
- Empowers its membership through organizational resources
SCNBTA’s members cover every region of the state and just as many different activities, from education to adventure, water to land, and wildlife observation to wildlife management. The organization focuses on cooperation rather than competition. Like any organization, value increases with involvement. As a strictly volunteer organization, we accomplish what we do through member and volunteer involvement.
Paying it Forward
Each year proceeds from the SCNBTA Annual Conference fund up to four youth scholarships to South Carolina’s Camp Wildwood. The camp’s purpose is to help train the next generation of conservation leaders in South Carolina. It is held mid-June at Kings Mountain State Park in York County. Registration opens in November, and scholarship recipients are notified by mid-December.
Through daily instruction, hands-on experiences and group activities, campers experience and learn about:
- South Carolina’s wildlife and natural resources
- the wise use of our resources, and
- respect and protection of the environment
Many who go through the three-year program continue to study and work within the wildlife and natural resource industry upon graduation from high school and college. There are approximately 100 slots open for the first-year program each year. These slots are open to rising 10th to 12th-grade students interested in learning about the Great Outdoors. The second and third-year programs are limited to the top 20 campers from the previous year. Professional staff and counselors invite those campers who they believe possess leadership, maturity, and a true passion for our natural resources to return.
Camp Wildwood is made possible because of support from the Garden Club of South Carolina, Hampton Wildlife Fund, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
If anyone is interested in supporting Camp Wildwood, they are looking for scholarship sponsors of $300 each. For more information, contact Dan DuPre, the camp’s executive director and a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources staff member.
