Enviropods camps open registration, Hazard among local sites

Perry County middle schoolers can still register for a free Enviropods camp in Hazard set for July 29-31. The three-day program gives students a chance to track floods, map landslides and chase storms without leaving the county.

The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences says the camp is built around Kentucky’s risk for earth, environmental and weather hazards, with lessons aimed at showing how scientists respond to those threats. Campers use hands-on tools and activities, including drones, virtual reality and landslide prediction exercises, to connect classroom ideas to real-world science.

Hazard is one of three Kentucky sites hosting the summer program. The other camps ran June 24-26 in Hopkinsville and July 15-17 in Frankfort, making Hazard the closest remaining option for Perry County families looking for a local summer science activity. Registration is open for middle schoolers.

The program is also designed to give students a closer look at careers tied to weather and environmental science. Summer Brown, a University of Kentucky professor and program director, said the camp is meant to open students’ eyes to workforce possibilities in those fields. That career connection comes through the same activities that make the camp feel more like fieldwork than a classroom lesson.

For families in Hazard and across Perry County, the local site reduces the need to travel for a program that blends science, technology and outdoor problem-solving. The setting gives students a chance to spend part of summer learning how flooding, landslides and storms are studied, while also seeing how university researchers use the same skills in Kentucky communities.