Stay in Touch with MDC news, newsletters, events, and manage your subscription
Xplor reconnects kids to nature and helps them find adventure in their own backyard. Free to residents of Missouri.
A monthly publication about conservation in Missouri. Started in 1938, the printed magazine is free to residents of Missouri.
DEFIANCE, Mo.—The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will be offering its annual Discover Nature Girls Camp Monday, July 13, this year at the August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center in Defiance. This is a free, full-day camp aimed at introducing girls, ages 11–15, to a range of outdoors skills in a supportive learning environment. The all-day camp will begin at 7:15 a.m. at the August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center in Defiance and will conclude at the nearby August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area at 7 p.m. that evening.
“The goal of this camp is to encourage participants to gain the confidence to explore Missouri’s diverse outdoors on their own,” said MDC Conservation Educator Becky Robertson. “Discover Nature Girls’ Camp will provide them with a comfortable learning atmosphere where they can actively participate in ‘hands-on’ outdoor skills led by conservation agents and MDC staff.”
Participants spend a full day immersed in an applied outdoor skills education setting, including shooting sports and archery, fishing, atlatl throwing, and canoeing. The event also incorporates Missouri Hunter Education instruction. “At the completion of camp, the girls will become Missouri Hunter Education certified so that they may continue using their newly learned skills,” Robertson said.
Discover Nature Girls Camp is free with all equipment and lunch provided. The camp is limited to 60 girls between the ages of 11 to 15 years old. The first 60 applications received will be selected to attend. The Discover Nature Girls Camp is also seeking chaperones to assist with the camp.
To apply, participants should follow the following steps:
For additional information, contact Becky Robertson at Becky.Robertson@mdc.mo.gov, or 636-441-4554, ext. 4126.
For the safety of participants and staff, Discover Nature Girls Camp will observe the following Covid-19 protocols: Masks will be required when in large groups indoors. In small groups outside, masks will be optional. Groups will stay with the same group all day to minimize chances of exposure.
The August A. Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center is located at 3550 Route D in Defiance, approximately five miles west of Highway 94.
