Wildlife & Fisheries Summer Camp

view photos from the 2007 Wildlife and Fisheries Summer Camp

The new Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Intergenerational summer camps were grand successes! These intergenerational camps included parents and teachers. Experience has shown us that families enjoy participating with their children in planned camps, and we offer teachers Continuing Education Units (CEUs). So consider making this a mini vacation for your family. The minimum age for unaccompanied children is 10 and there is no age limit for parents and teachers.

The cost of the first camps was $225 per individual and includes an intensive wildlife and fisheries experience, a t-shirt, career discussions, lodging and meals, a wildlife dinner and tips on cooking game, field trips, and transportation to various sites. We will conduct two camps each summer and both will be residential camps on and near campus. Camp start Sunday afternoon at 1:00 at the Berryman Institute on Blackjack Rd. and camp will officially end at 1:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, after a wildlife dinner. Parents and campers can check into the dorms prior to arrival at the Berryman Institute. The dorms will be open at 10:00 a.m. and a camp staff member will be there to assist you.

Learning Experiences

• Fly tying and fishing
• Orienteering with compasses and Geocaching with GPS
• Tracking and telemetry
• Archery and bow fishing
• Tomahawk and rabbit stick throwing
• Stream Ecology on the Noxubee River
• Backyard habitat
• Edible and poisonous plants
• Briefings on snakes, turtles, quail, waterfowl habitat, endangered species
• Deer necropsy
• Canoeing
• Macroinvertebrates and water quality
• Bird ID walks and mist netting
• Weather forecasting
• Hunter Education and Boater Safety
• Pelt tanning (deer)
• Trip to the wildlife pens and sketching
• Nocturnal wildlife and insects
• Forest and nocturnal insects
• Mississippi rocks
• Shock boat fish sampling
• Small mammal trapping
• Black powder and blow guns
• Story telling

Camp is limited to 25 youth with no limit on parents and teachers.

The Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge is an exciting partner and we spend some time on the refuge learning from their staff. In addition to hook and bullet programs we will be investigating wildlife ecology, environmental education and natural resources management.

Our Wildlife and Fisheries Camp is intensive. Most days start early with a bird ID walk and activities continue into the night. On our first afternoon, for example, we experiment with different methods of fishing and learn about fish ecology. We observe a demonstration of our electro-shock boat used for fish sampling and have the opportunity to begin tanning a hide. We tour our wildlife pens and introduce journaling and sketching. A catfish supper is followed by fly tying and learning to use GPS receivers. Then it is off to bed; early Monday morning we will be headed for the Noxubee River!

Campers enjoy archery and an introduction to bow fishing, tracking and a lot of other outdoor skills. Experts and wildlife biologists will provide many short wildlife briefings and show-and-tells throughout the camp. Evenings are used to introduce campers to nocturnal animals and sounds, the stars and planets and insects that are attracted to lights. Other exciting opportunities may include tracking with telemetry equipment, mist netting, tomahawk throwing, blow guns, storytelling, weather forecasting for outdoor enthusiasts, small mammal trapping, forest bugs, skulls and bones and the opportunity to shoot a few different guns. You can expect new and exciting activities each year! There will be several options to accommodate campers with different backgrounds and needs. For example, we will offer Hunter Education and Boater Safety for those who need it and alternatives for others. We will also offer an alternative during the deer necropsy.

Now, that we have a camp format that we are happy with, we are ready to begin recruiting an adult staff that we can work with over the next few years. We are planning to have several meetings during the year with prospective staff and during each meeting we will plan a fun activity to give you advance experience with camp activities. So, if you like the outdoors, love children and want to assist with an intensive Wildlife and Fisheries camp contact Dr. John Guyton at jguyton@cfr.msstate.edu.