WAYNE COUNTY, Pa. — Campers are soaking up the sun at the Rockport Hunting Club in Newfoundland with members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. They're learning all about what it takes to become a game warden.
"Game wardens, it's basically like almost the equivalent of a police officer, but they work with wildlife helping out like if an animal is trapped or something like that," said Matthew Doro, Dingmans Ferry.
"I feel like it would be a lot of fun because I also really love the outdoors," said Logan Wurst, Hughesville.
There's a lot to pack into the one-day Junior Game Warden Camp.
Nearly 40 campers made their rounds through different stations to learn about everything from tracking wildlife to trapping.
Game commission officials say a day like this helps inspire the next generation of wardens.
"The goal is to introduce the campers into the daily life of the game warden, how they spend their day protecting the wildlife, conserving the resource," said Ryan Gildea, Pennsylvania Game Commission.
One of the most popular stations at camp is the wildlife forensics. That's where campers get an up-close look at how game wardens investigate crimes involving animals.
"They taught us about how they document scenes, how they take photos, to find out who did this and all of the evidence," said Doro.
"To look at your surroundings before you go into like a place that could have evidence for a wildlife-related crime," said Wurst.
The Game Commission hosts junior game warden camps across Pennsylvania; for more information, click here.