I am at the 2007 Arkansas Greenwing Conservation Camp held Feb. 8-11 near Stuttgart, Arkansas. The camp is a joint effort among Ducks Unlimited, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Each year, children between the ages of 14-16 have a chance to attend the camp by demonstrating considerable interest in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. This year’s gathering is the camp’s 15th year.
Waterfowl Observation
The camp helps establish or strengthen an enduring impression of wildlife conservation, not only in the campers, but their parents, friends and classmates whom they tell about their weekend at the camp. They learn and see first hand how Ducks Unlimited, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service promote wetlands and waterfowl conservation. We show them how our collective mission is not only focused and accomplished through hard work, but that it can be fun and fulfilling at the same time. The camp includes an intense schedule each year, beginning early Friday morning and concluding Sunday afternoon.
Invertebrate Sampling
Activities resemble a high school biology course with some fun sprinkled in between. Educational activities include speakers on hunter safety, hunting and conservation ethics, waterfowl identification, wetland ecology, waterfowl ecology and life history, waterfowl trapping and banding, agricultural land management for waterfowl and wetlands management.
Shooting Instruction
Some of the hands-on activities include skeet shooting, retriever demonstrations, sampling agricultural fields and wetlands for aquatic insects, waterfowl anatomy and necropsy, and a few trips afield to observe waterfowl in different types of habitat.
Waterfowl anatomy and Necropsy.
Celebrating its 15th year, past campers, parents and DU volunteers are invited to drop by Saturday during the open house celebration. Saturday’s open house will be highlighted by an iron chef wild game cook-off featuring venison, wild turkey, pheasant, oysters, goose and, of course, duck dishes. DU volunteer “chefs” Mongo (Keith Futrell) and Tom Smalling will prepare a myriad of dishes - barbecued, smoked, baked and other delights.
Retriever Demonstration
At the camp, kids compete for prizes and a chance to attend either the Canada or Wisconsin Greenwing camp. Besides the 16 kids who attend the camp from Arkansas, two each from the DU Canada and Wisconsin Greenwing programs attend the Arkansas camp.
Not only do the youth leave the camp with a greater understanding of the importance of conservation, they also seem to make some pretty good friends with fellow campers. By Sunday afternoon’s closing of the camp, some of the kids shed a few tears and seem hesitant to leave. Children attend the camp for free.
Identifying invertebrates with stereoscopes.
Our Greenwings are the future sportsmen and sportswomen, flag bearers of waterfowl conservation and volunteers of Ducks Unlimited.
The camp could not succeed without speakers and camp counselors from DU, USFWS, AGFC, Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, Jerry Jones (owner of the Dallas Cowboys), George Dunklin (owner Five Oaks Lodge), and Tom Pearman and the Bahama Group of California.
Learning radio telemetry techniques.
Mississippi Youth Waterfowl Hunt