Sponsored By The Outdoor Campus
Everyone knows that spending time outside has benefits that go beyond just fun. Ranging from mental health benefits such as growth in self-confidence and grit to new skill acquisition, there is a benefit to everyone getting outside.
The Outdoor Campus Sioux Falls is here to partner with you and your family on your pathway to the outdoors.
As a Family with Young Children
It is hard to not love the early years with children, when you can spark interest and wonder in a child. As early as kids can walk, students are out on our Natural Playscape, digging in the dirt, hopping on stumps, and interacting with nature. Along with this, our Sertoma Park trails are set up perfectly for both short walks and longer strolls with kids of all ages.
As a Family with School Aged Students
Whether you are a family that homeschools, or your student goes to a traditional classroom, the Outdoor Campus is here to partner with you to bring learning to the classroom. We offer a variety of free Homeschool Programs that you can register for such as dissection classes, South Dakota Mammals classes, and more!
Already many traditional schools come to the Campus to learn about South Dakota Wildlife, go fishing, snowshoeing, or shoot archery, because teachers know the power of field trips and the importance of experiential education. If your student’s class doesn’t come to the Outdoor Campus, put a bug in their ear. We are free for a field trip and if schools cannot come to us, we can also come into the classroom.
Aside from school programs we offer a variety of types of classes for you and your family in the form of our Community Programming. These programs are free and open to anyone in the general public and only requires registration. These classes include hunting, fishing, trapping, conservation science, and outdoor skills classes based specifically on the weather. For example, in the summer we are kayaking, while in the winter we are snowshoeing. We put a program booklet out every season that highlight the classes for that quarter. If we put a class out after the booklet, we call it a “Pop-up” class, meaning it doesn’t show up in our book. All of these classes we post on social media, so make sure to like and follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Some families join our classes through one of our nonregistration required classes we call “Open House Programs”. These are very popular for us in the summer with fishing, kayaking, and archery, but we will also hold them with ice fishing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
Another fun feature of our classes are that they build on each other. You may start by taking an introduction to fishing class and by the end of your experience with the Outdoor Campus you are tying flies and building your own fly rod with us!
Families with Students 12 and Up
Once your student hits 12 years and older they can do two things:
First, they can begin volunteering with the Outdoor Campus Sioux Falls. This opportunity allows them to make friendships with other peers who are volunteering, learn new skills from more experienced volunteers, and learn key skills like working with the public. All of our volunteers go through an interview as well, so they will get their first real experience learning the interview process, getting them ready for a career!
The second thing that happens when you are twelve, is that you are eligible to take HuntSAFE. HuntSAFE is free program (if done in the traditional classroom) that allows students to learn the ins and outs of safe gun handling as well as rules and regulations with hunting.
Fun for the Whole Family
All of our classes are open to the public, with some specifying an age limit. For example some of our classes such as Hunting 101 are for older students such as 11 and above looking to learn how to hunt. These can be a great opportunity for a parent and a child to go hunting with a GFP Staff Member or GFP Volunteer Mentor. We often have Mom and child, Dad and child, or Grandparent and Child alike take this program. Other of our programs are geared more towards adults to allow that space for community amongst adults or college students for example in fly tying.
Families with College Aged Students
Aside from being able to take programming with us, once your student is in college they can jump start their carer by doing an internship with us. Our internships are paid and open to students who have been in college at least one year, this is a great way to gain experience in education, the outdoors, and natural resource management.
Giving Back
A final way we see many people get involved in the Outdoor Campus is by taking all their knowledge they have gained and giving back by volunteering. We have folks of all ages who volunteer, but many of our adult volunteers come and help with classes as instructors or they help as Mentors in our Hunting 101 Program. Learn more about volunteering with The Outdoor Campus here!
The Outdoor Campus is your family’s path to the great outdoors and your opportunity to grow as a family through learning and doing those outdoor activities!
So remember, have fun, get outside, and get connected to the outdoors…no matter what stage of life your family is in!
Check out all of our articles related to The Outdoor Campus on their Author Page!
