Kristen Beck is an easygoing, good-natured person. But she is also wildly passionate and overflowing with enthusiasm about the great outdoors and the endless adventures and experiences available in the world’s wilderness areas.
Beck, her husband, Mike, and her parents, Carol and Bob Hanson, operate the non-profit AFLOC – A Florida Outdoor Center.
They previously operated a retail outdoor center, but around 2010, says Beck, “the family started thinking about something more, to teach people about wildlife and use of natural resources.”
Now they concentrate totally on AFLOC – which Mike likes to call “A Flock of People Outdoors Having Fun.”
All AFLOC proceeds go to funding youth outdoor activities: Kids Adventure Camp, a 9-week summer experience open to kids 6-16; and teen programs, which include camping and longer paddling trips.
AFLOC also takes on park projects in partnership with other groups, such as bridge repairs, trail improvements, and caring for the AFLOC-adopted Indian River Lagoon spoil island, IR9A.
At a picnic table in Sebastian’s Riverview Park, Beck pushes her hair back (strands of pink and purple blending with the natural brown) and talks with great enthusiasm about AFLOC’s purpose – “to get more people active, outdoors and reconnected with nature, through classes, seminars, social programs, and guided excursions (no more than 12 people to a group, to keep the impact on the environment minimal).”
AFLOC is a good deal more than jump on a bike or kayak and let’s go. Beck has spent many hours studying to be a guide, and to be able to teach outdoor survival skills and safety. Whether it be kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, fat-tire biking, birding, wilderness trekking, she says, “All our outings are educational, on multiple levels.”
Beck “inherited” her deep love of nature from her father and grandfather. “Everything I teach I learned from them,” during a childhood spent exploring the Maine and Vermont woods and waters. “We camped, sailed, canoed. My parents actually moved here by sailboat, from Rhode Island to Indian River County, in 2000.”
At that time, Beck was aquatics director at a Girl Scout Camp in New Jersey and was taking the grueling course that New Jersey required for a Marine Guide Certificate. The hands-on, boot camp-like training took students into lakes, rivers, woods, to learn first-hand how to react in any imaginable emergency situation.
“My mentor, a huge, hairy mountain man, taught me how to survive a whitewater rafting accident by grabbing me by the scruff and tossing me into Level 4-5 whitewater. I hated him – but I learned confidence. I learned not to be wimpy. I learned I could do it. So now, when I lead a trip, the people know they can have confidence in their guide.” She also learned how to drive and maneuver a van pulling an equipment trailer, a skill she uses constantly, with ease, and one which many a male counterpart envies.
Beck’s credentials do impress. With a degree in Marine Biology, she is a sought-after teacher and guide. She raced as a member of the National Wildwater Kayak team; was offered a guide job on the notorious wild Zambezi River in Africa, known for its awesome rapids; and she leads trips in Ireland, England and Germany, as well as many adventures throughout the U.S.
”I love teaching about how to make a fire after a rain, how to survive in the wilderness, swift water safety, how to swim in a rip current.”
She reflects: “So much I’ve learned about rough water translates into every aspect of my life. Look beyond the things in front of you – look ahead, scout out the next challenge, set the course, correct to the course, relax, and know how to make changes – because nothing really turns out exactly like you think it will.”
Among the AFLOC adventures the Becks and crew offer: By Land – the Wild Sebastian 100 Ultra Trail Run, AFLOC’s core fundraiser, which takes place in April and November. This run, says Beck, “is set up for runners to try longer distances without the penalty of a DNF – all loops will count!”; Sun and Moon Trail Marathons; The Screech Owl (6-hour) and Great Horned Owl (12-hour) night runs; and Run Paddle Run, a 5k run split in half by a 5k paddle on the St. Sebastian River (shorter distances for younger children.).
By Water – Up the River WITH a Paddle is AFLOC’s major annual paddling event, which takes place in November and attracts more than 150 paddlers to the St. Sebastian River. It includes events for all ages and abilities, from 6-year-olds to pro paddlers; Wicked Fun Paddle Day; Athlete training and instruction. Safety and guide training includes Wilderness First Responder; Wilderness First Aid, taught by certified instructors and recognized nationally; Guide Training, leadership, safety and customer service skills; and Junior Guide training.
Often, Michael Beck is off leading an adventure in one part of the world, currently, the Grand Canyon, while Kristen is leading or planning an excursion somewhere else, as more and more families are discovering the world of fun to be had by walking out of the house and into – the Great Outdoors.
