The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is sponsoring a summer camp from July 18-22, 2011 for children 12 to 16 years old at the Waddill Outdoor Education Center in Baton Rouge.

The camp is completely free of charge and will allow participants to receive their official boater and hunter education certifications. LDWF will also offer a fish identification class, fishing and canoeing in the ponds at the Waddill Outdoor Education Center, skeet shooting, and other outdoor related classes and activities.

“We want to teach children, before they finish middle and high school, the fun and excitement of spending time outdoors,” said LDWF Secretary Robert Barham. “For a week, parents have the chance to let their kids become sportsmen and women in a safe, supervised environment. Not only will they get valuable boater and hunter education certificates, but they will have the chance to get excited about spending less time with computers and video games, and more time enjoying the truly exciting activities Louisiana’s great outdoors has to offer.”

The Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation are providing a daily lunch free of charge for the five-day summer camp. Cabela’s in Gonzales also donated a rod and reel combo set that each child will receive to fish with while at the camp and take home.

In addition to LDWF’s instructor’s, the Louisiana branch of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) will also have personnel on site and will give each student a CCA membership upon completion of the camp.

The camp is open to the first 20 children that register. To register, contact Adam Einck at 225-765-2465 or aeinck@wlf.la.gov. The camp is only open to children who do not have a boater or hunter education certificate.

Parents who register their children, may drop them off at the Waddill Outdoor Education Center located at 4142 North Flannery Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70814 between 7 and 8 a.m., and then pick their kids up between 4 and 5 p.m. each day. Attendance every day of the week is mandatory in order to receive the boating and hunting education certifications.

Anybody born after Jan. 1, 1984 must complete a boating education course and carry proof of completion to operate a motorboat in excess of 10 horsepower. The course includes information on choosing a boat, classification, hulls, motors, legal requirements and equipment requirements. The course also covers many navigation rules and charts, trailering, sailboats, canoeing, personal watercraft and more. Completion of the course will result in the student being issued a vessel operators certification card.

The hunter education course is mandatory for anyone born on or after Sept. 1, 1969, who plans on purchasing a hunting license. The hunter education curriculum includes sections on ethics and responsibility, wildlife management, firearms and ammunition, safety in the field, wildlife identification and wildlife conservation. The major objectives of the hunter education programs are to reduce the number of hunting accidents, improve the image of hunting through ethical and responsible conduct and promote the shooting sports.

For more information, contact Adam Einck at aeinck@wlf.la.gov.