"Range Camp took me out of my comfort zone in the best way possible. I was exposed to new ideas, new people, and that week began my journey to working in the world of conservation science." Owen Sowerwine, Top Camper (2015) and High School Youth Forum participant (2016)
40th Range Camp
Thank you for your interest in the California Range and Natural Resources Camp (Range Camp). We are currently full for the 2024 Range Camp. Please contact rangecamp@ucanr.edu if you would like to be on a wait list.
This program is organized by University of California Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resource Advisors and Cal Poly Range professor. Our goal has been to introduce high school students to the professional world of plant, animal, and landscape management. To do this we invite experts in scientific disciplines related to wildlife, forestry, rangeland, and plants, as well as professionals who are involved in managing resources of these kinds on a daily basis. We aim to make the camp a fun experience for the campers, and interesting as well. One of our goals is to send campers home with a useful understanding of the great diversity of career opportunities that are available, and the different paths through colleges and universities that can take you there.
The camp is run by a group of volunteers who take our personal time to organize each year’s event and serve as primary staff for all or part of the camp week. We do our best to limit costs to the greatest extent we can without undermining the educational and social experience of the program.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Range Camp staff at rangecamp@ucanr.edu
Range Camp 2024
Range Camp 2024
WHO: Campers must be at least 15 years old and have completed 9th grade.
WHEN: Sunday, June 16th through Friday June 21st.
WHERE: UC Elkus Ranch, Half Moon Bay, CA
APPLICATIONS can be found HERE
COSTS: $750 BUT- SCHOLARSHIPS are available for any camper who might want it, please reach out for more information.
Any questions, please email us at rangecamp@ucanr.edu
What is Range Camp?
Range Camp is a week long program that consists of lectures, hands on activities, a ranch tour, BBQ at the beach, group projects, a plant identification test, and a final exam. At the end of camp the three Top Campers are invited to represent CalPac SRM at the annual Society for Range Management’s High School Youth Forum.
During camp campers should expect to participate in hands on projects each day associated with lectures that often include digging a soils pit to examine and compare soils, hiking local trails to learn plant families and names, completing an inventory of a local stream to determine creek health, learning wildlife survey techniques, etc. We keep you busy and going all day long in the field as much as possible. There is a lot to learn about rangelands. We have tried to pick the things that we like the most to give every camper a small taste of what it might mean to be a Rangeland Manager.
