May 4 deadline for NRD scholarships

CURTIS, Nebrska -- Middle and High school students interested in this summer's natural resources camps have until May 4 to get their scholarship applications in to the Middle Republican NRD. Five scholarships are available, two per county within our district, each in the amount of the camp registration fee.

This year's pre-approved camps are the Nebraska Range Youth Camp for 7th- 10th grade students and the Adventures Camp about the Environment (ACE) for middle school students.

The Nebraska Range Youth Camp is sponsored and organized by the Nebraska section―Range Management Society and is held at the State 4-H camp in Halsey. This camp is a blend of educational and recreational activities, with the primary emphasis being on range, livestock and ranch management in the Nebraska Sandhills. Each camper will receive a notebook of reference materials as well as classroom and field experience. The camp is open to all interested young men and women between the ages of 14 and 18 with an interest in Nebraska's most extensive natural resource, rangelands. This camp provides great preparation for the FFA supported range and land judging competitions.

The ACE camp is sponsored by the Nebraska Association of Resource Districts and will also be held at the State 4-H camp in Halsey. Junior High aged Students will dig into nature and form a new understanding of the environment through interactive participation. Campers will have an opportunity to canoe, climb, slide down a water slide and archery. Students will also learn about possible careers in the area of natural resources from the professionals who work in that field every day. For more about this camp, visit http://www.nrdnet.org/nrd_programs/education.html .

Applications will be sent to district guidance counselors, vocational agriculture instructors, and natural science teachers. Students may also apply for the scholarships on the District website at: http://www.mrnrd.org/programs/education/scholarships/scholarships.html

To be eligible, applicants must be residents of the Middle Republican Natural Resources District. This includes all of Hayes, Hitchcock, and Red Willow counties, southern portion of Lincoln and most of Frontier counties. Applicants must attend a school that is either located in the Middle Republican NRD or whose school population includes a significant portion of students who reside in the Middle Republican NRD. Applicants must select camps or workshops dealing with natural resources topics. The Nebraska Range Youth Camp and the ACE camp are pre-approved scholarship eligible camps. Other natural resources camps may qualify pending the approval of the MRNRD Board of Directors. Applicants must qualify for all the guidelines outlined in the camp application.

Scholarship applications along with the camp registration form must be received in the Middle Republican NRD office before the close of business on May 4, 2012.

For more information, contact Roger Lawson at the Middle Republican NRD office in Curtis at (800) 873-5613 or any district high school guidance counselor or vocational agriculture teacher.