MDC offers Discover Nature Girls Camp July 8 at Busch Shooting Range

DEFIANCE, Mo.—The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will be offering its ninth annual Discover Nature Girls Camp Monday, July 8 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. Girls should plan to arrive between 7:45 and 8 a.m. to check in and be picked up between 6:45 to 7:30 pm.

Participants spend a full day immersed in a hands-on outdoor skills education, including shooting firearms and archery equipment, walking through a safety trail, and learning tree-stand safety.

Throughout the day, the girls will also have a chance to learn canoeing and kayaking basics, and water safety. They’ll navigate a geocache course challenge and learn all aspects of fishing from fish identification, casting, tying knots, and cleaning fish to finally catching their own fish.

Participants experience all of this in a group setting of their peers, taught by knowledgeable instructors who make participants comfortable to try new things. The goal of camp is to encourage all participants to leave with the confidence to explore Missouri’s diverse outdoors on their own.

Discover Nature Girls Camp is free with 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, contact the MDC St. Louis Regional Office at 636-441-4554 to request an application form. Applications must be completed and returned by May 15.

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.