Campbell (front, second from left) poses with her herd, the Charolais, at the finale of the 9th Battalion of Ranch Brigade.
TEXAS BRIGADES Learning by Doing
Article by CAMPBELL CAGE Photos courtesy of TEXAS BRIGADES
A
s I entered my sophomore year of high school, my classmates and I were required to identify an event and/or experience that had changed the course of our lives. For many, their pencils sat still on the paper, but I knew exactly what would start my list: Texas Brigades. Texas Brigades is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to educate and empower adolescents with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries and land stewardship to become conservation ambassadors for a sustained natural resource legacy. Texas Brigades offers eight different camps during June and July across the state. Students, ages 13-17, who are interested in learning about the outdoors and wildlife are eligible to apply. I highly recommend getting involved for countless reasons, especially because of the incredible people and the one-of-a-kind educational opportunities that exist at the camps. Texas Brigades is an experience one treasures forever. Last summer I attended Ranch Brigade, a five-day program in Santa Anna, Texas, where I got to explore cattle production while learning land stewardship skills. All the campers were assigned to one of four different herds: Brahman, Hereford, Charolais and Angus. Each herd consisted of six to seven campers (called
50 T E X A S W I L D L I F E
JANUARY 2022
Campbell administers a brand after learning from local veterinarian and Ranch Brigade instructors how to safely brand and why branding is important in most operations.
