Camping often brings people closer to nature, but Mississippi State University is also offering the opportunity to learn about wildlife, fisheries and the great outdoors to parents, teachers and children as young as 10.

Two camps will be offered this summer: June 3–7 and July 8–12. The cost for each camp is $225 per person and includes on-campus lodging, meals, field trip transportation and a camp T-shirt. During the week, participants will eat a wildlife meal after receiving tips on cooking game.

John Guyton and Bronson Strickland, both of the MSU Extension Service's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, are organizing the activities.

"The intergenerational camp can be a lot of fun for families and an ideal mini-vacation that will provide memories to last a lifetime," Guyton said. "Teachers will find the camp a very enjoyable way to earn Continuing Education Units."

Some of the learning experiences will include fly fishing, bird identification, compass and Global Positioning System use, stream ecology, archery and bow fishing, nocturnal wildlife and insects, hunter education, boater safety, weather forecasting, black powder and blow gun use, small mammal trapping and storytelling.

Wildlife talks will cover deer, quail, turkey, waterfowl, snakes, plants, turtles, raptors, wildlife careers, habitat development and other topics.

For more information on the camps, contact Guyton at (662) 325-3482 or jguyton@cfr.msstate.edu. For registration information, contact Diane Weeks at (662) 325-3174 or dweeks@ext.msstate.edu.

In addition to MSU, organizations supporting the camps include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge; the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; the Mississippi Leopold Education Project; Keep Mississippi Beautiful; and the Mississippi Natural Science Museum.