Montgomery County 4-H and Extension held “Outdoor Day Camp” for all area youth in grades 4-8 on Tuesday, June 9th at Viking Lake State Park from 9am – 3pm. With 10 excited youth signed up for the busy event, the day began with get to know you games. Youth were then divided into small group. One group focused on fishing; youth learned about their poles, how to bait, cast and even got to try out their fishing luck in the lake.

The second group was kayaking; youth learned about water safety, how to paddle,
and got to play around in the kayaks on the water. The third group focused on leaf identification; youth learned a few common Iowa trees, looked for their leaves, and identified other leaves they found around the park. Participants enjoyed a lunch grilled on site along. The warm afternoon consisted of several more small groups.

The first group learned about the environment and make wildflower seed bombs; the second group went on a nature scavenger hunt; the third group learned about solitary bees and created nests to put out to help the bees in our areas; and the last group was outdoor cooking where youth learned about cooking with a Dutch oven and cooked banana smores! Youth finished the day with some team building activities and some outdoor games.

If there is anything you would like to learn more about, see a presentation on, or attend a workshop for, Hallie Peck, with Montgomery County Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says they are always open to ideas and would love to hear your interests!

Peck says a special “thank you” goes to Johnson Controls and their program, Blue Sky Involve, where they helped with funding the program, in addition to the volunteers who helped to make this day camp possible! For any other questions regarding 4-H contact Hallie at the Extension Office (712) 623-2592 or email hpeck@iastate.edu.