Flathead 4-H Day Camp 2022

Published: 2022
By Richard Balestri

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic and staffing limitations, MSU Extension in Flathead County coordinated adult volunteer and youth counselor efforts to offer a series of summer day camps at the Darrell E. Fenner Loon Lake 4-H Camp located east of Bigfork. The day camps provided age-appropriate outdoor activities, crafts, and group meals. The campers especially enjoyed the lake swimming, canoeing, log rolling, making parachute cord survival bracelets, singing camp songs, and competing in the camp Olympics. Campers made connections with youth outside their community clubs and were able to experience new, adventurous activities. Camp counselors completed several training sessions focused on planning, logistics, and safety before the beginning of the day camps. These training sessions enabled the counselors to build new relationships and develop leadership styles. Additionally, the Flathead 4-H Council selected a current youth member to attend a Red Cross lifeguard training course and serve as the primary lifeguard during the day camps. One of the Flathead County Commissioners, the County Administrator, and the Fairgrounds Manager attended the final day’s lunch and watched a portion of the camp Olympics. Flathead 4-H plans to build on the momentum of the successful 2022 summer day camps and offer an overnight camp experience in July 2023.