ummer camps are in fully swing across the Wildcat District. Rising costs make camps like Sunny Hills/Rock Springs or Discovery Days difficult for some of our families. Thankfully our local camp, Cedar Bluff, is a great low-cost way to send youth to summer camp! Cedar Bluff will be full again this year with 30 campers and 13 counselors, solely from Montgomery County. Thanks to the Montgomery County 4-H Foundation (now the Wildcat District Educational Foundation) we are able to offer scholarships to youth that attend Sunny Hills and Discovery Days 4-H camps.
We have two Montgomery County youth attending Discovery Days in Manhattan this month. We have four Montgomery County youth attending Sunny Hills camp at Rock Springs 4-H Center the first week of June.
Camp is always a busy time for 4-H agents! Aside from arranging transportation, health forms, food, etc., agents also organize activities at camp. This year Wildcat District agents will hosting Techniques of Tailgating at Discovery Days. Thirty youth have signed up to take our class. We focus on food safety by teaching youth proper food handling techniques, correct temperatures, how to pack a cooler for tailgating, and much more! Our youth then have the opportunity to prep food, pack it in a cooler, and transport it to the football stadium at K-State for tailgating! Yard games and music from the K-State band make our atmosphere very lively! We then tour the athletic facilities. It takes collaboration from all our agents and it is always the first class to fill up at Discovery Days! At Sunny Hills 4-H Camp each agent has their jobs to do, aside from looking after youth. One of my jobs is KP, or kitchen duty. We teach the youth how to properly set a table for the nine meals we have at camp and them how to properly sanitize and clean-up after the meal. Other duties at Sunny Hills are taking group pictures of each cabin, helping with land carnival games, and leading our county in a flag ceremony. Camp is always a great time and youth grow independent and more confident with each trip! I am also the camp secretary for our Sunny Hills Camp group. Cedar Bluff 4-H camp is completely ran by Montgomery County agents, everything from food preparation, sleeping arrangements, and game planning. Cedar Bluff wouldn’t happen without the collaboration of Barbara and Jeri. We have some exciting things planned to add to the programming at Cedar Bluff and can’t wait to tell you more in June.
In other news, fair items are well under way. I have visited a few clubs recently to talk about a new online google forms for Montgomery County. These forms will save members, which choose the online option, a stamp or a trip to town! Plaques are being ordered, concession stand planning is in full swing, and judges are almost complete! When we come back from camp we will really get into fair activities! In preparation for fair programming, if you have Legos or empty 2 liter bottles you would like to donate to 4-H we would love to have them! Bring them by your local Extension office or make arrangements with an agent to pick them up!
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