By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

Texas high school students with a passion for wildlife, conservation and natural resources can now apply to attend this year’s Wildlife Conservation Camp hosted by the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

This year’s camp will be held July 17-21 at the Texas Tech University Center in Junction.

“The first camp took place in 1993, and it’ll be 30 years this summer since it was started,” Kelley Mundy, camp co-chair and a Texas Master Naturalist program aid, said. “The goal of this camp is to provide high school students with a fun and interactive experience, learning about nature, ecology and wildlife. The campers come from a variety of backgrounds, but they all leave with new knowledge and a different perspective of the environment that they live in.”

The camp, which is open to high school students, includes exciting, hands-on wildlife and conservation-based activities.

“They’ll experience five days in the outdoors, learning from natural resource professionals from across the state,” Mundy said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “We’ll have hands-on activities that allow the campers to experience a variety of wildlife and rangeland techniques, and they’ll be able to comprehend the interconnectivity of the world around us. The activities might include species identification, different trapping techniques, hunters education and ethics, and some field sampling, to name a few.”

Campers will explore wildlife and plant ecology, species identification, tracking, trapping, monitoring, habitat investigation, management strategies, Hunter Education and conservation ethics.

Students who attended the camp in the past are welcome to apply and return again.

“I actually started with this camp in 2012 as a camper,” Mundy said. “I’ve tried to return almost every year. I was a returning camper while I was still in high school. I returned as a college mentor while I was in college, and now I’m there as a professional mentor. Pretty much, as soon as you get done being a camper the first time, you can always come back in a different role.”

Cost is $350, including housing and meals, for the week.

Scholarships are available. Students may also seek out sponsorships to defray the cost of the camp. The public can donate to students’ attendance of the camp at WildlifeCampTx.org.

Volunteers may also apply on the wildlife camp website.

The deadline to apply is May 1.