MISSISSIPPI STATE – Young people and adults have two opportunities this summer to try a variety of high-interest outdoor sports through wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture camps offered by Mississippi State University.

The week-long, residential camps are intergenerational, open to those ages 10 and older. Camps will be held May 30-June 3 and June 27-July 1. Campers will stay in MSU housing and will complete activities on campus and at the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. Camps are limited to 25 participants, and registration closes when the camps are full. The cost is $325 per person or $300 per person when a parent attends with a child.

Activities that may be included in the camps are boater safety, hunter education, wildlife briefings, river ecology and fish trapping, seining and electro-fishing, archery and bow fishing, tracking and telemetry, rifle, shotgun and muzzle-loader shooting, tomahawks, deer necropsy, GPS and scuba diving.

“Parents and grandparents can come to this camp as campers with their children,” said John Guyton, Extension professor and camp organizer. “Teachers may also attend camp and receive continuing education units for their participation.”

The hands-on activities are designed to be educational and fun.

“We intersperse our high-interest outdoor activities with briefings on such things as aging deer and bear, waterfowl ecology, and skull bones and antlers to help them become better stewards of the environment,” Guyton said. “They collect macro-invertebrates that fish enjoy eating, and then they learn how to tie flies that resemble them.

“After bow fishing, they learn about non-point source pollution and how they can help keep streams clean so they can continue to enjoy fishing in them.”

For more information, contact Guyton at (662) 325-3482 or Laura Andrews at (662) 325-6694.  Find online information and registration at http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/wildlife/conservation_camp/.