Game Commission hosts game warden training camp for kids

CENTRE CO., Pa. (WJAC) — The Pennsylvania Game Commission gave youngsters an opportunity Thursday to learn about becoming game wardens.

When we think of career days for kids, jobs like police officer, firefighter, and doctor usually come to mind. And so, the Game Commission wants to expose kids to the life of a game warden, especially out in the wild.

"We have several different stations that are set up that the kids rotate through and work with game warden instructors," Lt. Mike Steingraber, a game warden, told 6 News. "And they talk about, you know, some of the different things that we do."

Steingraber said dozens of kids flocked to State Game Lands 176 on Thursday.

"My first station, we got to learn about how they tag bears," 12-year-old Tyron Johnston told 6 News.

"We learned about tracking. We tracked, like, someone walked through the woods and we tracked it and we learned a lot," said 12-year-old Benjamin Groy.

Patty Sumner brought her 15-year-old daughter to the camp.

"[My daughter] said she was really having a good time learning everything, and they really enjoyed the bear," Sumner told 6 News.

"And I'll be honest with you. I enjoyed it too," she added, following with laughter. "I'm just kind of, you know, hanging back in the background and watching."

The education was truly hands-on, teaching kids about the wild side of criminal justice.

"So, some of our officers are gonna show kids, like, what a game warden does forensically," Steingraber explained. "It's a little bit different than maybe normal police officers. So, we get into some different stuff," such as "how to make a fire in the wild, what do you need to do if you're stranded, things that you can take with you to keep you from getting stranded."

While instruction is one of the goals of the Junior Game Warden camp, so is inspiration.

"This is a way that we can kind of advertise, you know, for our position," said Steingraber. "So, people -- especially younger kids -- get an idea of, 'Hey, that that's neat! You know, maybe when I grow up, that's what, that's what I would wanna do.'"

And some kids told us they now have that very idea.

"I really wanted to be a game warden because I wanna, like, have my own, like, hunting ranch and I would also kind of like [to] have that background of knowing all the laws and all that stuff, and I just love to be in the outdoors," Groy explained.

"I wanna be a game warden because I want to tag bears and help people around," Johnston chimed in.

And their friend, 11-year-old Ethan Edevane, said, "I just like being outside and stuff."

Sumner also told us that if her daughter were to become a game warden, she would 100-percent support it.

Steingraber told us they "are always hiring" new wardens. He explained that game warden school is a year long, making it one of the longest training academies in law enforcement nationwide.

Because it takes longs to replenish their ranks, Steingraber said educating kids about becoming a game warden is a great way to get a new generation interested.

"It's a pretty cool job," Steingraber said. "We don't have a boss that's hanging over our head constantly. We're out in the woods, working alone. You know, you get a chance to do some really cool things that not the average person doesn't get to do, you know, working with bears, working with different types of wildlife."

"One day, we could be doing a camp like this," he added; "the next day, we're out doing law enforcement; and then the day after that, we're trapping turkeys for a biological study that we're conducting."

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