NEWSROOM
Marsh
Maneuvers Much More Than Summer Camp
July 18, 2005
The LSU AgCenter’s
annual series of Marsh Maneuvers camps are much more than the
usual summer camp. They’re a generous dose of education
mixed with a heaping serving of fun for 4-Hers from across the
state.
Mark Shirley,
an LSU AgCenter aquaculture and coastal resources expert, said
the camp is designed to teach high school students the value of
the coastal marsh areas.
During the
four-day camp, the participants learn about coastal ecology and
the biology of the state’s coastal areas. The camps, which
are offered several times each summer, highlight such issues as
coastal erosion and give students a chance to discuss some of
the erosion control options being proposed by the different state
and federal agencies.
"Marsh
Maneuvers is a coastal ecology program we do for 4-H high school
students each summer," Shirley said, adding, "We’ve
been doing it for about the past 15 years."
This year’s
program was conducted at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge near
Grand Chenier, although earlier programs have been conducted at
other locations along the Louisiana coast.
The number
of participants is limited each summer – to provide youngsters
with the most hands-on experiences they can have – and the
individuals who take part are chosen by 4-H agents in the parishes
slated to be involved in the camps that summer. Many times, youngsters
write essays or are interviewed by agents who try to find those
most interested in learning about coastal ecology.
Shirley said
the 4-Hers who come to Marsh Maneuvers aren’t necessarily
interested in becoming marine biologists, but despite their variety
of interests, the experiences are designed to help them learn
the importance of Louisiana’s coastal environment while
also having fun.
"We try
to give them an experience here in the marsh that they won’t
forget," Shirley said. "For example, the airboat ride
is something that most people don’t get to do every day.
"We also
take a smaller boat down the canal and pull a shrimp troll and
look at some of the shrimp and different kinds of fish that are
just teaming in these waters," he said, adding, "They
get to throw cast nets and they catch brown shrimp and white shrimp,
crabs and several different kinds of fish."
Participants
also are taught such facts as each acre of marshland on the Louisiana
coast is several thousand times more productive than the best
acre of corn land in Iowa. "So just on a productivity basis,
the amount of protein and carbohydrates is just tremendous,"
Shirley said.
Another highlight
of the camp, according to Shirley, is a night hike on one of the
roads through the marsh – where participants get to "shine"
some alligators and listen to the marsh birds.
About 16 different
parishes are represented by approximately four students each during
the four-week camping period every summer. Because of the limited
number who can participate, parishes eligible to participate rotate
on an annual basis.
"We try
to rotate so each parish will send four students every four years,"
Shirley said, explaining that means earning a spot in the camp
can be quite competitive and is an honor for many students.
As for what
they learn, Shirley said the students get a well-rounded knowledge
of both the biology of the coastal ecosystem and some of the social
implications of these resources.
"This
is where half of Louisiana lives – south of I-10,"
the LSU AgCenter agent said, adding, "All of these people
in some way are touched by the resources here on the coast. Thousands
of people work offshore in the oil and gas industry, and other
people work onshore in support of that industry."
The coast
also serves a vast array of other functions from protecting inland
areas against storms to the coastal marshes’ role in food
production.
As part of
the camp, Shirley stresses that coastal erosion is not just a
Louisiana problem, but also is a national problem.
"Over
40 percent of the natural gas that’s used in the United
States comes through Louisiana via a pipeline somewhere across
the Louisiana coast," he said. "So coastal erosion affects
everybody in the nation."
That’s
just one of the reasons Louisiana’s congressional delegation
in Washington is trying to drum up support for saving Louisiana’s
coast, according to Shirley, who said there is a debate on whether
we can save what’s left of the coastal environment or whether
we can try not to lose as much of it quite as fast.
"Educating
these students about the coastal situation makes them ambassadors
for the coast," Shirley said. "When they get back home,
they give presentations to their 4-H clubs and they use this information
for speeches in classes. Some even go back to their police juries
or the Rotary clubs in their community and give presentations
there."
While there
are only about 64 4-Hers at camp each summer, the effect multiplies
once these students get back home and share their experience with
their family and friends, people at school and people in their
communities.
"Again,
it stresses the fact that even though you live in North Louisiana,
you’re still affected by coastal issues," Shirley said.
"Whether it’s seafood, oil and gas, or the storm threat,
we’re all affected."
Shirley said
that while the knowledge they gain covers a broad range, the students
are probably more excited about getting a closeup look at alligators
than any other activity. He said this is good, because the alligator
is so important to the coast.
"The
alligator resource here in Louisiana is maintained much like a
tree farmer in North Louisiana manages trees," he explained.
"The tree farmer harvests timber one year and then he replants
on a cycle. With alligators, we harvest a certain number of alligators
each year."
Shirley said
the hide is where most of the value lies, but the meat is also
quite valuable. "It has the consistency of pork chop, but
has the mild flavor like chicken, so it’s the other, other
white meat," he said.
Frederickia
Jackson, an 11th grader from West Ouachita High School said this
is a great camp, and she would recommend it to anyone over 8th
grade.
"We’ve
been fishing and crabbing and learning about different animals
on the coast," she said of her experience, adding that notes
she and other participants were taking after their daily activities
will be useful when they return home.
"When
we finish a project we write in our journals what we did and what
we learned," she said. "We’ve learned a lot about
coastal erosion. For example, we saw where they put down sticks
last year, and where they were stationed is now taken over by
water."
For further
information about Marsh Maneuvers or other LSU AgCenter 4-H youth
development programs, contact your parish LSU AgCenter office
or visit http://www.lsuagcenter.com.
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