Rangeland Ecology & Management

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CALIFORNIA-PACIFIC SECTION�S RANGE CAMP - IMPACTS OF OVER 30 YEARS OF RANGE EDUCATION
Author
Finzel, Julie A.
Beccehtti, Theresa
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

The California-Pacific Section (CalPac) started Range Camp in 1984, over 30 years ago, pulling high school kids from across the state and more recently also from Hawaii. It has always been held in Half Moon Bay, California at UC Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center. Many things about camp have changed since that first week, however, the core concept and organization remain the same. Looking ahead to another outstanding 30 years, camp organizers wanted to gain some feedback from past campers. A survey was distributed to former campers dating from 2001 to 2016 camp years.� 284 were surveys were mailed, with 248 of those also receiving an email link to the survey for ease of completing. Our response rate was 14%, with the most recent years having a higher return rate of roughly 30% each for 2015 and 2016.� Survey participants were asked to share their background and knowledge prior to camp and then their perceptions of range management after completing the one week camp.� The survey not only captured information on lecture topics and camp activities, but also asked participants to indicate if camp had any influence on their academic or career choices.� 73% of the respondents said Range Camp did influence their academic or career choices.� Range Ecology and Range Management appear to be the most influential topics for students.� Of the campers already in the workforce, 64% have a position in a range related field. 95% of campers indicated that Range Camp did increase their understanding of land and natural resource management as well as their perception of how their personal actions might affect the environment. Complete survey results will be presented along with next steps.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV