Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – Even though the Cousteau-based Ambassadors of the Environment program is still waiting on its permanent home, the program has been fully running for four years and is headed into a fifth summer of programming for young campers.

Another big part of the program includes a free five-week camp in June partnering with Gulf Shores City Schools and paid for with a grant to the school board from the state’s 21^st Century Community Learning Centers. The elementary and middle schools in Gulf Shores receive $150,000 a year in a three-year program and for afterschool “Beyond the Bell” activities.

It is also used to fund the first part of the summer program with the Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability, center Director Travis Langen said. It starts today, June 1, and runs through July 3.

“It’s a cool program and the kids don’t pay a dime,” Langen said. “It’s five weeks, 150 elementary kids and anywhere from around 50 or so middle school kids. We do a lot of the same stuff we do with our other camps with biking and field studies, a lot of animal and plant ID. We do a bunch of environmental art stuff. The kids will do their own tie-dyed camp shirt with all-natural indigo dye, we’ll have special guest speakers coming all summer.”

The popularity of the five-week day-long camp for elementary ages means kids are picked in a lottery drawing to be allowed to participate.

“The elementary program is super competitive,” Langen said. “They had to do a lottery system. They only have 150 spots and I want to say there’s like 100 kids on a waiting list. For the elementary school program, it’s from early morning until 5 p.m. With the lottery its by family so if you’ve got two or three kids in the school, if your name gets picked it’s the whole family.”

The middle school camp is 8 a.m.-noon and Langen said he and his staff are adding new adventures for this year’s program.

“We’re adding Fort Morgan this year, we do the zoo, the Interpretive Center, Lake Shelby and a couple of other spots. We’ll be at the Learning Campus,” Langen said. “The kids just have to just walk across the street to go to the Learning Campus.”

After that camp is completed, the center will start its own paid camp in July and involve many of the same activities as the camps for Gulf Shores students. It’s open to visitors and tourists at a cost of $185 per camper for the 8 a.m.-noon day camp.

“Anyone can sign their kids up,” Langen said. “We’re calling that Gulf Camp. That’s a little more recreational, fun in the sun, biking, kayaking, do a beach day. We get kind of a combo of residents and tourists signing their kids up for that program.”

Day passes are available this year for $40 and Langen is looking to expand that offering for 2023. Camps start the week of July 3 and run every week in July.

“We’re about to start offering single-day passes or one or two days,” Langen said. “We did that last year and it was hugely popular. We’re going to be opening that up even bigger this summer with the idea that we’ll hit up all the condos. We’re trying to open it up more to the tourism industry with families on vacation. If they want to sign up for the bike tour or the kayak tour they can.”

Another plus for this year’s camp will be having a founder in the Ambassadors of the Environment program, Dr. Richard Murphy, training staff who will help run the camp.

“This year we’ve getting Dr. Richard Murphy who is Cousteau’s righthand man to come and train our staff,” Langen said. “He was on the actual Calypso with Jacques Cousteau and Cousteau’s science directors since like the 60s.”

Click here to learn more about the camps and to register a child. It is offered to children aged 7 to 15.