Dakota College at Bottineau is hosting an on-campus Women in Water summer camp June 2-5. The Women in Water camp provides an exploration in programs leading to nontraditional fields. Young N.D. women will have an opportunity to explore STEM careers in fisheries, hydroponics and aquaponics. The three-day overnight camp is funded through a grant received from N.D. Career and Technical Education.

According to information provided by the college, women are highly underrepresented in aquaculture and hydroculture careers such as aquaponics production, commercial greenhouse production, controlled agriculture environment, fisheries, aquatic system and hydroponic careers. Included in this four-day adventure is hands-on time exploring these careers and opportunities.

Students will be housed and fed on Dakota College campus with transportation to and from the field and tour sites. Campers will participate in on-site streaming morphology and habitat, learning hands-on water chemistry and fish seining. There will be geocaching and canoeing at Lake Metigoshe. The adventure continues with campers building portable aquaponic systems which will be donated to N.D. high schools that have two or more students attend the camp.

The hands-on activities allow campers to learn about careers in aquaculture and hydroculture while providing exposure to these careers. 2018 campers shared that they thought it was a lot of fun and opened their eyes to careers they never knew about before.