Wildlife & Fisheries Summer Camp

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2007 | 2008 | 2009

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The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Camps are a grand success! These intergenerational camps include parents and teachers, brothers and sisters, and even some grandparents. Experience has shown us that families enjoy participating with their children in planned camps, so consider making this a mini vacation for your family. We also offer teachers Continuing Education Units (CEUs). The minimum age for unaccompanied children is 10 and there is no age limit for parents and teachers. Camp is limited to 25 participants.

The camps cost $275 per individual or $225 per person in a family group that includes at least one parent/guardian. This fee includes an intensive wildlife and fisheries experience, a t-shirt, lodging and meals and transportation to various sites. We will conduct four residential camps each summer. Each camp starts Sunday afternoon and ends 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
• Tomahawkthrowing
• 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
• Hunter Education and Boater Safety
• Pelt tanning (deer)
• Trip to the wildlife pens
• Nocturnal wildlife and insects
• Forest and nocturnal insects
• Mississippi rocks
• Shock boat fish sampling
• Small mammal trapping
• Story telling

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, and activities continue into the night. A typical day may include experimenting with different methods of fishing and learning about fish ecology, observing a demonstration of our electro-shock boat used for fish sampling, and tanning a hide. We may tour our wildlife pens, tie flies for fly-fishing and learn how to use GPS receivers Campers enjoy archery, 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, 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. Teachers, extension agents, medical personnel, and parents are all welcome. 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. If you want to learn more about the camps, check out the other links on this page.