USU’s Natural Resources Camp helps students break barriers and sharpen skills
The S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture and Natural Resources strives to help students prepare and acquire skills to manage and protect environments and the natural resources in Utah. For the past four years, the Color Country Natural Resources Camp has been an opportunity for students to learn and practice skills that they will take with them into their fields, as well as to break down barriers between their peers.
“Essentially, it is a camp where we go out into the canyon and teach students field skills, try to help them build community within the College of Natural Resources,” said Utah State University sophomore Ashley Starr, who is the committee chair for the camp. “We do workshops, camp out and have a good time out there.”
For others, the camp goes beyond simply teaching skills, additionally helping students to meet others within the college and create friendships that go beyond the classroom.
“I definitely feel like it’s about breaking down barriers between people who want to work outside. There are some skills you learn and some experiences that really go a long way. But I think it’s definitely about getting outside with your cohort and doing things with new people,” said former camp equipment manager Kennedy Price. “You’re meeting other people who are interested in things like you. I’ve seen a lot of friendships blossom from the camp. We have a broad range of what we’re shooting for. To get people into workshops, learn some new skills and knock down some of those barriers.”
Cortlyn Graves shared similar thoughts about her experience with the camp as a first-year student at USU.
“As a first-year student, I didn’t really have a lot of friends, especially in my major, yet, so it was really great to meet a bunch of people,” Graves said. “I am still friends with every single person that I met at camp, and now a lot of them are in my classes.”
With the recent merger between the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, the camp may look different as it aims expand beyond natural resources and include activities to help agriculture students as well.
“Because of the merger, we’re hoping to expand our workshop and our accessibility a little bit more to be able to include a lot of the agriculture majors that joined the college when we combined,” Starr said. “The main goal is to help students get field skills, so we’re hoping to add more workshops to fit students from agriculture majors.”
While the camp is oriented towards students within the QANR, it is not limited to students in the college. Anyone interested is encouraged to go out with the group.
“In the past, it has definitely been natural resources-heavy, but we invite other colleges to come out as well. By inviting other colleges, we try to make sure that some of the workshops are interesting to them. Last year, we invited plant soil climate and some agriculture students, and we did a soil workshop,” Price said. “While some workshops might not be exactly your cup of tea, we try to do a broad range of things for everyone. Even if you just want to go camping for the weekend and hang out with your friends and do some cool workshops, you’re more than welcome to come along.”
The camp’s workshops include activities from all sorts of environmental fields. From wildfire management to eco-art, there are activities for everyone to enjoy, according to Starr.
“Last year, we had an e-fishing workshop, a wildlife trapping workshop and more, but we didn’t just do workshops. We also did fun stuff like eco-art, which is a student club on campus,” Starr said. “It’s all to help students find community while also learning how to do stuff in the field. As well, if your major is unexplored and you don’t know 100% what you want to do, then we try to provide a little bit of everything so you can figure out what you enjoy.”
The workshops are directed by USU faculty as well as professionals from various fields who help create engaging and informative workshops for students to learn from.
“The professors help a lot with the workshops. They love to help out because our college has such a close culture, and they really want to support us,” Price said. “We’ve gotten some outside help as well. Last year, we had the USGS [United States Geological Survey] come and teach the electrofishing. They brought all their equipment and talked about how to do it safely and professionally.”
Despite the hard work it takes to organize and plan the camp, for those who run everything behind the scenes, seeing students learn and grow makes the effort worthwhile.
“I would say my favorite part of the camp is seeing everything come together because it is a little bit stressful leading up to it. We spend all spring semester and the beginning of the fall semester planning everything and getting everything together,” Starr said. “Seeing how happy and involved students are in the workshops and seeing them get to know each other and create lifelong connections within the college is really great.”
Regardless of one’s major, Starr and Price said the Natural Resources Camp has something for everyone, whether participants are there to add skills to their resume or simply to enjoy the outdoors.