Restrictions related to the COVID pandemic provided a new learning opportunity this spring for a group of students enrolled in the President’s Outdoor Fellows Program of the University of Montevallo.

Due to the restrictions on large gatherings, Outdoor Fellowship Director William Crawford and Deputy Director Chris “Scooter” Stano have had to get creative with the program of the program which serves students passionate about wildlife and conservation.

“We usually have a speaker series where we bring people from the outdoor industry to all of our students,” Stano said. “Due to COVID, we couldn’t get 83 students together at a time. William and I came up with the idea of ​​doing small group dog training, turkey hunting and trapping strategies. One of the little groups we created was Survival and Camping. “

Stano contacted the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) for help with the survival and camping class.