Survival Camp teaches valuable skills

WAPPAPELLO, Mo. — As rain clouds and thunder rolled nearby, Doniphan/Eleven Point District Ranger Matt Dillon from the Mark Twain National Forest collected scraps of paper and small strips of wood into a pile, teaching a half dozen young students gathered with him the basics of starting a campfire.

Not far away, Sam A. Baker State Park Naturalist Michelle Soenksen was demonstrating a variety of animal furs to another group of children and teaching them the characteristics of each species.

They were part of a group of 28 students taking part in a “Survival Camp,” a first-year program from the Butler County University of Missouri Extension held at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center at Wappapello Lake.

Michelle Soenksen, a park naturalist at Sam A. Baker State Park, talks to Survival Camp participants about various wildlife as she demonstrates their pelts. DAR/Paul Davis

“It’s going well,” said Stephanie Milner, county engagement/4-H youth development specialist, of the three-day program. “The kids have responded that they are really enjoying it, and they really loved the conservation department’s archery class.”

Topics covered during the program included knot tying, hypothermia, water survival, snake identification, orienteering, nutrition, basic first aid, outdoor cooking, building a campfire, fishing, plant and insect identification and many more.

The program, Milner said, came about after conversations with several people indicated a strong interest.

Emberlyn Buchanan takes a close look at a beaver pelt during a Survival Camp wildlife identification class. DAR/Paul Davis

“We got to talking to people here and they were interested in survival skills,” she said.

Milner told of a story of two young girls in California who used such skills to survive.

“They were lost in the woods for a few days. They were 4-H members and used what they learned to survive just off what they had learned in 4-H,” she said.

Siara Jones shows the s’more she made during her Survival Camp outdoor cooking class. DAR/Paul Davis

Such skills, she noted, could be helpful for children who get locked out of their house, for instance.

Several local agencies contributed to “put together a program the kids could enjoy and learn a lot from,” Milner noted, including the Missouri Department of Conservation, U. S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Cops of Engineers, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Stoddard County EMS.

“I’ve enjoyed the event ... it’s been pretty fun,” said Connor Metzing, 12, of Poplar Bluff, who couldn’t decide which class was his favorite. “I like them all.”

Kristi Baker helps Jaxon Walker with his Gyotaku fish print during a class at Survival Camp. DAR/Paul Davis

Karson McCauley, also of Poplar Bluff, said the crafts class was his favorite and he was “having a great time.”

Information on other 4-H programs, Milner said, is available by calling the Butler County University of Missouri Extension Office at 573-686-8064.