With the summer camp season just around the corner, the Friends of V.I. National Park lined up a roster of camps at the V.I. Environmental Resource Station on St. John to suit campers from ages 7 to 17. Camps are free for Virgin Islands residents.
“We’re creating future stewards of the island,” Friends program manager Karen Jarvis said. “They’re learning about underwater marine-based ecology.”
Camp kicks off July 8 with the first of the eco-camps for youths ages 7 to 12. That three-day, two-night camp wraps up July 10.
Subsequent eco-camps run July 11 – 13, July 15 – 17 and July 18 – 20.
“Our focus is on the land-sea interaction zone in the mangroves,” said Randy Fish, resource station operations manager.
The students will learn about the different kinds of fish that live in the mangroves as well as the habitat and its importance, Fish said.
He said that to do this, students will kayak and snorkel in the mangroves near VIERS. There will also be time for swimming, campfires and s’mores.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Fish said.
The five-day, four night science camp for students ages 13 to 17 begins July 22. It wraps up July 26.
“They’ll be working with actual graduate student college researchers doing actual research,” Fish said.
He said the campers will learn scientific methodology, coming up with hypotheses as well as research methods.
“It’s more of a college preparatory camp,” he said.
The ranger-in-training camp for students aged 13 to 17 runs for five days and four nights starting July 29. It ends Aug. 2.
“With a national park ranger, they’ll look at all different facets of what the park does,” Fish said. That includes archeology, cultural and historical resources, hiking and visits with interpretive and enforcement rangers.
“It’s great for someone interested in natural resource conservation and working at the park later,” Fish said.
Space is limited to 25 students per camp. Parents are welcome to attend with their child if space is available.
A $30 refundable registration fee is required. However, that fee can be donated to Friends of VIERS if desired.
To sign up, visit www.islands.org/viers or call 776-6721.
