Summer camps at USM’s GCRL campus offer fun, education on the water

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - School is now out and kids are home for the summer, but that doesn’t mean they have to spend all their time at home. Not when the University of Southern Mississippi’s Sea Camps and Angler Camps are up and running.

These camps give young students a great way to connect with the great outdoors. The camps also offer a great way for kids to spread their wings, as they learn about the coastal environment and wildlife.

“You can explore new things,” said Lydia Brown. "And you’re not sitting around all day being bored.”

For the older students, they can spend the day on the water, learning how to fish from a kayak.

“I love the ocean. I’ve always loved the ocean," said Ellie Gostomski. "I’ve always loved going to the beach, I love the fish. It’s just always been something I’ve been interested in.”

Younger kids have the chance to learn how to tie a fly and actually make a cast.

“I went fishing and that was really fun," said Ryder Boslaugh. "And we threw a couple of cast nets and I liked that. Even though it was challenging, it was also very fun.”

Some of the students are using the camps as a springboard for future careers.

“I want to major in marine biology," said Robert Currier. "I feel like this will help me with a good little background that I’ve been to these camps to help get scholarships and go to college.”

The Gulf Coast Research Lab’s Sea Camp and Angler Camp in Ocean Springs is all about the students, the fun they have, the experiences they have and the opportunities to learn. But the children aren’t the only ones having fun.

“It makes me very happy to know that I am presenting something to them that otherwise they may never get the opportunity to see, especially close up like out peregrine falcons. and gopher tortoises," said camp instructor Alison Sharpe.

The one-week camps are held all summer long, and are sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Lab and Marine Education Center. For more information on applying, click HERE.

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