Natural Resources Camp

  DAILY ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

   Check out the daily camp schedule and prepare for an outdoor experience
   you'll remember for a lifetime.  Additional supervised activities include hiking,
   fishing, archery,  basketball, horseshoes, crafts, and target shooting with real
   .22 caliber rifles.

Hides and skulls of birds and  mammals native to Idaho.

WILDLIFE

Let the animals do the teaching as they show you about their habitats, communities, adaptations, and identification. This can be done by actually observing habitats, hides, horns, antlers, droppings or pellets, teeth, and other bones. Take some time to explore predator-prey relationships, and the impact of humans on wildlife.

Plant collection, preservation, and identification.

RANGELAND

Nearly one-half of Idaho is rangeland (about 21 million acres). Idaho rangelands are extremely valuable because they support many different uses, important not just for local residents, but for the entire United States. We challenge NRC participants to explore the interconnections between soil, water, air, plants, animals, and people in an outdoor classroom setting. Participants learn how to identify grasses, forbs, shrubs, and other plants characteristic of Idaho rangelands, and return home with their own reference plant collection and plant press.

Measuring tree diameter

FORESTS

The forest is many things to many people. It is a place for recreation and a source of fuel and wood. Forests also protect our soil and store our water. Learn how to identify trees and about modern forest management practices that ensure our forests will last. 

Inspecting pond critters to determine stream health

WATER

Water has been described as the "Elixir of life, the universal solvent and the lifeblood of nations." Its contributions to modern living are so numerous that any effort to list them would include everything we consume, use, wear or discard. Idaho youth and educators have the opportunity to explore water quality issues of irrigation, municipal uses, recreational use, and pollution potential.

Silt, clay, sand, or somewhere in between?

SOIL

Soil is a basis for all life. How we manage our soil influences forestry, wildlife, range, water quality, septic systems, gardens, lawns, and structural foundations. Explore the soil through your fingers and eyes to determine soil textures, structure, and color. Learn how soils vary across the landscape and the management practices that coincide.

BIG WOOD VALLEY LAND USE SIMULATION GAME
This is a game in which students assume the roles of special interest groups who wish to develop, conserve, or protect an area.  There are zoning committees or county commissions that make these decisions every day in Idaho. Groups of students will be selected to represent nine user groups, and will have fun playing their roles and presenting their plans for the proper use of the Big Wood Valley.  The background in water, soils, wildlife, forestry, and range learned this week at camp will help students understand the various reasons for a group’s position.  Citizens can have an effective role in land use discussions if they become properly informed and are willing to become involved in the process.