Delta Wild Adventure Program

The primary purpose of the Delta Wild Adventure Program is to get youth outside on public lands. This project will bring awareness to the remaining 1% of the original wild Mississippi Delta. Participants will connect to the natural and cultural heritage of the Yazoo Mississippi Delta. Youth will better understand rivers, swamps and bottomland forests and how they shape our story, culture and sense of place. We will explore wild places using both the creative and scientific process as a lens to see and understand what remains of our Delta. This is an introduction to the fascinating and “most altered place on earth” - The Yazoo Mississippi Delta. The intended outcome of Delta Wild is to introduce public land, remove fear of the unknown and activate curiosity about the Delta.

2017 Program Highlights

The Delta Wild Adventure Program is structured around an activity book created by Robin Whitfield. The book focuses on five natural resources important to the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta story: cotton, clay, cypress, cane, and natural plant colors. Each part contains

• the environmental story of the resource;
• its cultural relevance to historical life in the Mississippi Delta, as well as the modern context of its ecological and creative importance;
• the current conditions of the resource as it pertains to its prevalence and any immediate dangers to its existence;
• questions about what the future holds and connections for opportunities to work with organizations and programs working in conservation.

Dates / Details:

• FREE
• Ages 14 - 18
• June 26 - 30
• 9:00 - 5:00
• Maximum of 14 students

Students must sign up for the ENTIRE WEEK. Due to limited spots, please do not register if unable to attend EACH day. 

Activities include:

Paddling in kayaks and canoes, wading in swamps or creeks, trapping and handling wildlife, sketching, photography, journaling, using loupes and binoculars, gathering and processing plant materials, hiking, watching, “Sharing Nature” games, delta stories, reading maps, wildlife identification and more!

Schedule:

• Monday, June 26 - Malmaison Wildlife Management Area with Mitch Robinson, Strawberry Plains Audubon Center
• Tuesday, June 27 - Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge with Becky Rosamond, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services
• Wednesday, June 28 - Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge with Becky Rosamond, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services
• Thursday, June 29 - Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge with Scott Lemmons, The Nature Conservancy
• Friday, June 30 - Museum of the Mississippi Delta with Cheryl Thornhill & Whittington Farm with Billy Whittington

We have full days of fun and adventure planned! Activities start PROMPTLY at 9:00. Please arrive at ArtPlace Mississippi a few minutes early. We will travel in a van to each destination as a group.

General Itinerary:

• 8:45 am - Arrive at ArtPlace
• 9:00 am - Briefing on goals, maps and ecology of location for the day
• 9:30 am - Leave for destination
• 10:00 am
  • Team 1 - Naturalist Guide / science activities
  • Team 2 - Artist Guide / creative activities
• 12:30 pm - Group Lunch
• 1:00 pm
  • Team 1 - Artist Guide / creative activities
  • Team 2 - Naturalist Guide / science activities
• 3:30 pm - Wrap up games / discussion / show and tell 
• 4:45 pm - Arrive at ArtPlace 
• 5:00 pm - Leave ArtPlace

Be Prepared

ArtPlace will provide water and snacks. Students must bring their own lunch.