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Registration is open for Daviess County youth interested in attending West Kentucky 4-H Camp, a four-day overnight experience this summer designed to give young people opportunities to learn new skills, connect with others, and unplug from technology.
The camp is scheduled for June 9-12 at the West Kentucky 4-H Camp in Dawson Springs. Youth ages 9-15 are eligible to attend, while teens ages 16-17 can apply to participate as teen leaders who help assist younger campers and support camp activities.
Sharayha Clingenpeel, extension agent for 4-H Youth Development with the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Office, said the camp offers a structured schedule filled with hands-on activities and outdoor experiences.
“4-H camp is a four-day, three-night overnight trip to Dawson Springs, Kentucky, where West Kentucky 4-H Camp is located,” Clingenpeel said. “That’s where Daviess County goes. We have four camps in the state, but that is the closest one to us.”
Each day at camp begins with breakfast and a flag-raising ceremony before campers head to classes they select at the start of the week. Clingenpeel said campers take the same four classes each day, allowing them to build on the skills they learn throughout the week.
Activities range from outdoor recreation and nature-based learning to skill-building classes such as archery, canoeing, cooking, and agriculture-related lessons.
After classes and lunch, campers have time for cabin activities and recreation, including daily swim periods. Evening programs bring the entire camp group together for larger activities and games.
“The first night we do something called mega relay,” Clingenpeel said. “It’s a bunch of little relay events, and the first team done wins. They get the spirit stick and bragging rights for the night.”
Other evening activities include water-based games and social events designed to help campers build friendships and connect with others from surrounding counties.
Clingenpeel said one unique aspect of the camp is its technology-free environment.
“We are technology-free for all the kiddos,” she said. “All those iPads, that cell phone, that fancy watch — you leave it all at home. You are disconnected from technology for four days.”
Without devices, campers are encouraged to focus on activities, friendships, and the outdoor environment.
“I think it gets kids out of their comfort zone,” Clingenpeel said. “It gives them a little break from all the technology that they’re used to seeing.”
Campers stay in cabins and participate in a variety of outdoor experiences on the camp’s wooded property, which includes hiking trails, a lake for canoeing and fishing, archery and trap ranges, ropes courses, and classroom spaces for educational programming.
Clingenpeel said the camp also emphasizes the four core values of 4-H — head, heart, hands, and health.
“Using your head to try something new, using your hands to learn or work hard, keeping yourself and others healthy, and having the heart to look out for others and include everyone,” she said.
The program has deep roots in Kentucky. Clingenpeel said records show youth attending 4-H camp in the state as far back as the early 1960s, and the Dawson Springs site has served generations of campers.
For Clingenpeel, who will attend camp for the fifth summer as the Daviess County 4-H agent and previously volunteered for many years, the most rewarding part is watching young people grow through the experience.
“I always enjoy getting to see kids try things new for the first time,” she said. “You see their smiles, they’re laughing, they’re giggling. They’re somewhere where they can be themselves.”
The cost to attend camp is $240 for youth ages 9-15. Teen leaders pay a $70 fee. Scholarships are available for families who need financial assistance.
Clingenpeel said Daviess County took 74 campers, teen leaders, and adult volunteers to camp last year, and organizers hope to grow participation in the coming years.
The deadline to register is May 6.
Families interested in attending can find registration information and applications at
daviess.mgcafe.uky.edu/4hcamp or contact the Daviess County Extension Office at 270-685-8480.
