Getting wild with wildlife (PHOTOS)

It’s getting wild down at the HarborWalk Village with Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge’s SummerWild day camp. This week 13 children took part in the program that explores local wildlife and ecosystems in a hands-on manner throughout the summer.

“For about an hour and a half on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the kids use nets to see what kind of wildlife they can find in the water,” said Assistant Director Susan Leveille. “We found jelly fish, hermit crabs, a shrimp one day and a seahorse.”

Besides marine life activities, the children also get to meet and interact with animal ambassadors daily including April the barred owl, and Diamond the reticulated python. As Wildlife volunteers introduce new animals, the children take notes in their wildlife journals.

At the end of the week campers get a chance to take to the sea on the Buccaneer pirate ship to view dolphins in their natural habitat and have a good time.

The SummerWild camp runs weekly throughout the summer at HarborWalk Village until August 14 for children entering first to sixth grade. For more information visit www.ecwildliferefuge.com or call 830-3933. 

For more photos of the event CLICK HERE