May-June 2016 Volume 36, Issue 3
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Extending Knowledge and Changing Lives in Linn and Benton Counties May 2014
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Building Memories with 4-H Camp
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By Mitch Lies, Growing Editor The history of summer camps in the U.S. dates to the 1880s, when camps were viewed as a popular means for urban children to experience nature. The American Camp Association, a nonprofit umbrella organization for summer camps, dates to 1910, when it was started as the Camp Directors Association of America. Perhaps never, however, have summer camps been as valuable as they are today. Summer camps often provide the only opportunity for today’s youth to experience outdoor life over an extended period of time. Throw in educational benefits, social benefits, recreational activities and downright fun, and you have a recipe for an invaluable experience with memories for a lifetime. This year’s Linn, Benton, Lincoln, Tillamook 4-H Camp will take place June 26 to July 1 at the 325-acre 4-H Center in Salem. Youth from across Oregon are welcomed to participate as, for the first time, the camp this year is open to all students currently in the fourth through the eighth grade, regardless of their county of residence. Attendance fee for the six days/five nights is $235. Parents should check with their
The Linn, Benton, Lincoln, Tillamook 4-H Summer Camp has a long-standing tradition of fun and learning. Come join the fun, June 26-July1. Visit your county 4-H website for more information and to register.
local Extension Service office for scholarship availability. Registration forms are available on the Linn, Benton, Lincoln and Tillamook Extension Service’s websites. Registration is limited to the first 170 to enroll.
For many, including the teen counselors and adult volunteers that help manage the camp, participating in 4-H camp has become an annual highlight not to be missed. “Among our adult camp staff, I would say 90 percent
were participants in this camp as youth,” said Carolyn Ashton, 4-H faculty in Benton County. “Camp gets into their blood.” “It is pretty amazing the passion people feel about camp,” said Robin Galloway, 4-H faculty in Linn County.
“Even back in the Depression, people wanted an escape from real life and they got it by getting out in nature, sitting around camp fires, telling stories and looking at the stars.” “And, of course, now camp is more important than ever because we have so many people in cities who don’t even get to see the stars,” Galloway said. “Camp is about a simpler time,” Galloway added. “It is about turning off your cell phones and computers.” (In fact, cell phones and computers are not allowed in camp.) “What we are trying to do is give them some time to focus on nature, on the sights, sounds and smells of being in the woods,” Galloway said. Campers at the LBLT 4-H Camp spend their mornings in natural science educational programs, including tree identification, bird identification and other educational opportunities found in nature hikes. Optional recreational activities take place in afternoons, such as arts and crafts, archery, swimming, canoeing and rope swings. Evenings are spent around a campfire, where campers roast marshmallows, put on skits, sing songs and tell stories. At night, campers share
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Linn County Master Gardener Tour coming June 18. • Hands-on food preservation classes start in Inside: June. • Get Outdoors Day May 21. • 14th Annual Benton County Master Gardener plant sale, May 7. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/linn May/June 2016 — 1