May is a long way off. Anyone raising children today, though, knows that to steer their over-saturated schedules in some desired direction, you have to plan ahead.

May is significant because the 18th of that month is the application deadline for Pennsylvania Wildlife Leadership Adventure for teens, a new program designed to address what author Richard Louv calls NDD -- Nature Deficit Disorder.

In his recent book "Last Child in the Woods; Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder," Louv warns that electronic convenience, television and commercial advertising are increasingly insulating each generation from contact with the natural world.

"In the space of a century, the American experience of nature has gone from direct utilitarianism to romantic attachment to electronic detachment," Louv writes. "Baby boomers -- Americans born between 1946 and 1964 -- may constitute the last generation of Americans to share an intimate, familial attachment to the land and water."

Pennsylvania Wildlife Leadership Adventure for teens is a five-day educational camping program offered by the Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education (PICE). According to program coordinator Gail Farmer, participants will experience nature overload, rather than a deficit.

"Being actively involved in the natural environment is one of the best ways to develop and nurture an understanding of nature," Farmer said. "There is an anonymous quote we use as a sort of motto for the program: 'Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.'"

PICE will hold two camps this summer at the Raystown Field Station of Juniata College in Huntingdon County. Each residential experience will focus on one species of Pennsylvania wildlife. The July 9-13 camp will examine the white-tailed deer from a range of ecological and social perspectives.

"Because of the complex nature of deer management in this state, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to engage youth and encourage critical thinking and team building skills," Farmer said. "This camp will allow youth to interact with top biologists, managers, and their peers as they confront their own knowledge and ideas about white-tailed deer."

A week later, July 16-20, campers will make an in-depth study of ruffed grouse to gain a deeper understanding of how forest habitats are important to all life.

PICE will staff both camps with leading professionals in biology, resource management, and communications. Farmer explained that the close interaction between campers and staff, in a residential setting, offers a "springboard for exploring ecological concepts and management issues, as well as for developing leadership skills such as public speaking, critical thinking, and team work."

Participants, she explained, will learn through hands-on field experiences how to track wildlife, identify native plants, evaluate habitat quality, use radio telemetry to study wildlife, give radio and television interviews on conservation topics, and will be encouraged to share their experiences when they return home.

"The Wildlife Leadership Adventure differs from other outdoor camps in that our interaction with the youth does not end with the residential program. It's only the beginning," Farmer said. "We work with the youth all year as they participate in education and service work on conservation issues in their communities. Their outreach achievements can qualify them to return to camp as assistant leaders and receive college scholarships. Our goal is to enable youth to be informed participants in the outdoors in their communities throughout life."

PICE patterned its Wildlife Leadership Adventure after a similar program in Texas called Buckskin Brigades. In 2005, PICE sponsored several Pennsylvania youths, including Penn-Trafford High School freshman, Matt Smith, to attend the Texas camp.

"It's probably the hardest camp I've been to, but it was also the most rewarding," Smith said. "If you try and give all you've got, you'll succeed. I think it's important in today's society because it's a learning experience to interact with people with all different perspectives on the outdoors. I stay in contact with some people in Texas because of the camp. We are close friends today because of what we shared."

Smith will have another chance to share his experience as an assistant counselor at the Pennsylvania camps this summer.

Enrollment for each of the five-day camps is $350, but Farmer said scholarships might be available from cooperating organizations to subsidize the cost.

Though its adventure camps are a new venture, PICE has offered a wide range of experiences for several years, including nature-tourism trips, and seminars on photography, backpacking, birding and other outdoor skills.

Application materials and additional details on the Pennsylvania Wildlife Leadership Adventure for teens can be accessed at the PICE Web site: www.PICEweb.org. Farmer also invites direct contact from interested parents or participants at gfarmer@piceweb.org.