Campers wanting a true outdoor experience should head to the Texas Hill Country this summer.
The Youth Outdoor Adventure Program at Joshua Creek Ranch offers a totally unique 10-day curriculum aimed at raising youth awareness of the important role of sportsmen in wildlife and habitat conservation.
Much focus is placed on safe, responsible and ethical conduct while handling shotguns, rifles, bows and arrows. This summer marks the 19th year that Joshua Creek Ranch instructs boys and girls 8-15 years old in shotgun shooting, fly fishing, archery, upland gamebird identification, tracks and traps, basic outdoor survival skills and Hunter Education Certification for Ages 9 and up.
The program includes demonstrations and seminars hosted by trappers, game wardens, wildlife biologists, taxidermists, and local sheriff’s deputies. Participants thrill to water sports including tubing, canoeing, and kayaking in the spring-fed Joshua Creek and secluded stretches of the Guadalupe River that border the ranch.
Ten-day sessions are scheduled June through mid-August. Youngsters spend ten days on the ranch under the guidance of experienced sportsman who keep them as focused on safety as they are on fun. They learn the life enhancing skills of ethical hunting and fishing and the responsibility that goes with them, like good stewardship of the habitat and conservation of the wildlife.
Participants are also given the opportunity to experience an optional Axis hunt for a doe or a buck, making it possible for them to take part in the management of the expanding Axis herds. For many, it will be the very first Axis buck or doe that the youth will harvest.
To ensure the safe handling of shotguns and rifles and safe conduct during water sports, the counselor to participant ratio is a 1-4 or 5. Several of the counselors are professional guides that conduct upland bird hunts during the hunting season.
The Joshua Creek Outdoor Adventure Program is all about outdoor knowledge and skill building; safe, responsible, and ethical conduct — and having fun! Reservations are still available for the sessions that run through August. There are still a few openings. The youngster will experience ten days of skill building and confidence, as well as fun, great memories and new friendships.
For more, go to www.joshuacreek.com.
