Area girls recently participated in a two-day, one-night camping trip aimed at introducing them to different outdoor skills.
Protection District Supervisor Jerry Elliott held the Missouri Department of Conservation’s first-ever Missouri Girls Exploring Nature Jr. Camp. Attended by 36 girls, the events included water and safety rescue, basic orienteering, steam team clean up, firearms safety, wildlife identification, poisonous plant identification, tent building, fishing, rifle shooting, archery, Dutch oven cooking and fish identification.
Under the direction of conservation agents, campers floated the Big Piney River and camped in tents on the riverbank. The free camp was funded by a grant from the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation, private donors and the Missouri Conservation Agents Association.
Several women acted as chaperones and assisted agents on the trip, including Mandy Adey, Tara Akins, April Crites, Amy Dill, Krista Elliott, Tina Henry, Melinda Keist, Ashley Morris, Ann Pondrom, Heather Sponsler and Tabitha Van Horn.