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Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery, Friends of Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery, Mammoth Spring State Hatchery, Mammoth Spring School District, and volunteers from our local community made another epic event happen. On March 23rd, 2024, Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery hosted our first Youth Outdoor Survival Camp. The Friends Group acquired a grant from the Association of Retired Fish and Wildlife Service Employees to provide survival kits for the event, at no cost to the participants. During this event, we were able to teach the participants the skills needed to survive in the wilderness. The students were able to keep the tool kits for their future use.
Since this was the first Outdoor Survival Camp for most attendees, there was a lot to learn but participants did learn a lot about survival in the wilderness.The Grant funds were limited to 40 survival kits. Ages of the youth students were 11-15 years old. The event was advertised through the Mammoth Spring NFH’s Facebook site, local area radio, fliers posted at local stores, Mammoth Spring State Park, and the Hatchery’s Aquatic Education Center/Aquarium. Registration was online through a Google form link.The outreach efforts paid off because the registration list was full after just two days.
The training consisted of eight learning stations: campsite setup, water purification, fire making, food foraging, primitive fishing, compass/map navigation, leave no trace, and wilderness first aid. These stations were led by local volunteers from our great community and with their assistance, the event was huge success.
