Three Decades Later, Mark Shirley Still Finds Joy in Teaching 4-H’Ers About Louisiana Marshesthree Decades Later, Mark Shirley Still Finds Joy in Teaching 4-H’ers About Louisiana Marshes
By Olivia McClure
LSU AgCenter
In the late 1980s, a group of 4-H Junior Leaders in Vermilion Parish was itching to do something fun for a summer club activity.
“They did not have the resources to take a trip to, back then, Six Flags in Houston,” recalled Mark Shirley, a coastal specialist based in the parish. “There wasn’t a Blue Bayou Water Park in Baton Rouge yet or things like that.”
Shirley wanted to help the 4-H members in their quest for summer fun, so he arranged to take the club to a camp on Vermilion Bay for a couple of days. He knew he could make the outing into a valuable educational experience, too.