Wildlife Conservation Camp: A Look at Long-term Effects Kelsey Griffin, T. Wayne Schwertner, Wayne Atchley, Selma Glasscock

Overview Education programs Short-term vs. long-term evaluations Overview of TCTWS Wildlife Conservation Camp Objectives & Methods Preliminary results-demographics & frequency data Future analysis

Introduction TCTWS Wildlife Conservation Camp Wildlife and Conservation education Application process Led by wildlife professionals Hands-on activities, discussions, projects

Wildlife Conservation Camp

Research Objectives Long-term attitudes of camp experience on participants Current attitudes and behaviors towards wildlife and natural resources Determine if program goals have been met Investigate methods to improve the camp

Methods Survey created in Qualtrics Web-based, hard-copy 41 questions, close-/open-ended response, Likert, National Survey Reviewed by professionals in the field, involved with camp Approved by Institutional Review Board- Exempt Number of past participants over age 18 Number of web-based surveys sent out Number of hard-copy surveys sent out ~375*12920 *was not able to confirm ages of all campers

Results Number of web-based surveys complete Response Rate Number of hard-copy surveys complete Response Rate 7558%315% Participant Response by Camp Year

Results Sex Ethnicity

57.4% completed a degree College Attendance and Completion

Population of Community Participant Grew up in

Likert Scale Questions How meaningful were the following aspects of camp? Survey Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha=0.933

Likert Scale Questions How much do you think camp increased your level of interest in the following activities? No increase Slight increase Moderate increase Large increase

Likert Scale Questions How meaningful were the following aspects of camp? Not at all Meaningful Not very meaningful Somewhat meaningful Very meaningful

Close-ended Response 100% Would recommend camp to others 86.7% Still participate in activities they learned at camp with friends and family. 61.3% Their current or intended field of work involves wildlife, conservation of natural resources, or science education/research 82.7% Their experience at the Wildlife Conservation Camp had or will have a major influence on the course of their life.

National Survey 2011: Wildlife watchers criteria- previous/current activity & intent Took Special Interest in Wildlife in the Last Year Wildlife Camp compared to National Survey: Texas

Hunting and Fishing Activity in the Last Year

Future Analysis Differences between early camp years and recent years Multiple regression analysis Qualitative analysis

Acknowledgements