Charlie Wurst and Kasey Bozeman are very excited to announce a new summer camping opportunity for high school students this year – the Georgia 4-H Natural Resources Exploration Camp hosted in conjunction with the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. We appreciate the vision and leadership provided by Dr. Kris Irwin, Warnell Associate Dean for Outreach, along with two outstanding Warnell faculty members Dr. Michel Kohl and Dr. Nick Fuhrman. They are very excited about strengthening their relationship with Georgia 4-H and the growing interest in natural resources among young people.
The goal of this camp is to expose high school youth to various natural resource topics through hands-on learning opportunities led by UGA CAES and Warnell faculty and staff. Youth interested in wildlife, fisheries, forestry, water, etc., as especially encouraged to apply to attend.
Realizing this is the first year we are offering this program and there is a participation limit, eligible youth will apply to attend the camp. Applications are open until May 1, 2023, and then will be reviewed by a team of Warnell and Georgia 4-H faculty and staff. Selections will be made by May 15, 2023. Here is the application link: https://ugeorgia.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_23KG7ZrR2k6PgEe. A copy of the application submission will be sent to the two e-mail addresses (youth & 4-H leader) provided by the youth applicant. After selections are made, counties with youth will be contacted regarding deposit payment, next steps, etc.
Click here for the link to the printable flyer and click here for a link to a social media graphic.
Basic information about this camping opportunity is listed below:
- Name: Natural Resources Exploration Camp
- Dates: July 10-14, 2023 – Campers should arrive between 1:00-2:30 pm on Monday, July 10. Departure will be between 9:15-9:30 am on Friday, July 14.
- Location: Rock Eagle 4-H Center – Campers will travel to Athens on Tuesday and Thursday to participate in in-depth learning opportunities at Warnell indoor/outdoor laboratories.
- Eligible: Youth that is completing the 9-12 grade for the 2022-23 school year are eligible to apply. This aligns with our other high school 4-H camping opportunities.
- Cost: $395 – includes lodging, meals, snacks, insurance, materials & supplies, transportation to/from Athens on Tuesday & Thursday, and a commemorative camp t-shirt.
- Participation Limit: 20 youth
- Tentative Activities & Tours: birds of prey & owl pellet dissection, advanced herpetology, pond management/electrofishing, leaf litter traps/stream ecology & macroinvertebrates, trail cameras & animal tracking, wildlife & forestry specimen identification, Whitehall Forest & UGA Deer Lab, touring Warnell’s campus buildings & laboratories, eating in a UGA dining hall, and natural resource career panel.
Questions can be directed to Kasey Bozeman (kaseyb@uga.edu) and Charlie Wurst (cwurst@uga.edu).
Happy Camping!
Kasey & Charlie