Outdoor Campus offers big vision for programming

The Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls has begun fundraising for a major expansion that will add opportunities to enhance and grow programming.

The campaign will allow for expanded indoor and outdoor offerings, in keeping with changing community trends and population growth.

Since 1997, more than 500,000 people have participated in a free hunting, fishing, outdoor skill or conservation science program through the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls, according to the South Dakota Parks & Wildlife Foundation. The campus is part of the state Game, Fish and Parks Department.

“When we look to another 25 years in Sertoma Park, we look forward to many more years of free programming that empowers participants to safely get outside and recreate,” said David Parker, director of the Outdoor Campus.

“The campus has only minimally changed its footprint over the last 25 years, while the city of Sioux Falls has continued to grow.”

The expansion would include an indoor archery and BB gun range, more classroom space, an outdoor cooking space, a dedicated game processing space, a dedicated intern office space, updated restrooms, a family restroom, a nursing mothers room and an updated storage area.

Educational classes at the Outdoor Campus are free, and the organization has offered nearly 20,000 classes since it began.

The outdoor space also will be transformed as archery and bow hunting grow in popularity. The current range allows for 30-pound bows, but an expanded space will allow for larger poundage bows and for users to shoot longer distances. The 60-yard range also will have a fence, range commanders and campers to enhance safety.

“All of these elements will allow us to continue to provide programming and further allow us to do more programming in the winter,” Parker said.

The changes will allow for year-round archery and BB gun courses, as well as HuntSAFE field days and National Archery in the Schools Program training courses, according to the campus website.

“With the renewed emphasis on hunting, fishing and trapping skills education, the creation of an indoor archery and BB gun range, a dedicated space for processing and cooking wild game and fish, along with a dedicated outdoor archery and BB gun range will allow our educators to accommodate the high demand for outdoor skills education programs,” according to the site.

The project is estimated to cost $6.7 million, and the plan is to raise $3 million of it locally.

The goal is to break ground in 2024.

If you’d like to donate, visit the Parks & Wildlife Foundation page.

Fall classes have begun, and you can follow the schedule and sign up through the Outdoor Campus page. The campus is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. It is closed on Sundays and state holidays. The campus includes a butterfly garden, an outdoor playscape and more than 2 miles of trails for walking and cross-country skiing.