Kait Christensen | New Co-Editor
Around Iowa, current and past members of 4-H are fighting to save their camps. The camps that so many children and adults attended during their 4-H careers are being reduced by Iowa State Extension and Outreach to shut down the bulk of summer camp programs. This would include the camp programs and facilities that are open to the public.
According to the Save the Iowa 4-H Program, “Seven 4-H groups will be utilizing the 4-H center facilities this summer. Some of these camping opportunities limit the age range of participants and many of them are half week camps. 4-H groups, which rent facilities and programming from the Iowa 4-H Center, are not the same as camps being offered by the 4-H Center.”
4-H campers will not be the only ones affected with this change. Along with campers, others who use these areas will also suffer changes in the use of the camps.
According to the Save the Iowa 4-H Program, changes for those who utilize the camps must “plan and coordinate their own events, camper registration, recruitment and training of staff and counselors, and sometimes even meals. If you are an Iowa youth who does not live in the region of one of the [seven] 4-H groups who is renting facilities at the Iowa 4-H Center, you will not be able to attend this summer!”
Along with changes in policy, less people will be staffed at the centers. This will also mean that there will be less training provided for the development of youth. The Save the Iowa 4-H Program states that these changes will impact youths who will lose the presence of positive adult staff members. These camps have also taught healthy lifestyles, along with learning new areas of interest for several campers.
Current Buena Vista University (BVU) students who were also involved in the 4-H program shared thoughts about why 4-H was important to them. Freshman Kelsey Blum discusses what 4-H and the program has meant to her. She did not attend 4-H camp, but she expressed how much it meant to her growing up in this program.
“I liked 4-H because I got to meet people from other schools. I met a lot of people from across Iowa because of 4-H. I liked being involved in something outside of school. Being a member of our county council, I learned how to become a good leader. We would set up different activities for the younger members to participate in,” Blum said.
Junior Holly Frerk also discussed what she learned and loved being involved in 4-H.
“I think my favorite thing about 4-H was all the interaction I had with other kids. I got to share the same excitement with others. I’m kind of a competitive person so I always liked showing. I learned a lot from being in 4-H, but the most valuable lesson I learned was to be responsible,” Frerk said.
Blum and Frerk’s views reflect the views that many participants voice about the program. The Save the Iowa 4-H Program’s mission statement explains their goals in reversing the plans made by Iowa State Extension and Outreach.
According to the program’s statement, “We must make our voices heard that the positive impact of the Iowa 4-H Center on young peoples’ lives has not gone unnoticed. We must urge Iowa State University Extension & Outreach to reverse or revise their plans to drastically cut all residential overnight state camps, day camps, and public facility rentals. We urge them, at the very least, to reinstate at least a few weeks of residential week-long overnight state camp programs, along with allowing non 4-H groups to rent facilities.”
Many people have already shown support for the Save the Iowa 4-H Program. Steps taken to support saving the 4-H programs include contacting people that can help such as state legislators, media outlets, and to 4-H personnel.
After the program’s website was created, a petition was quickly started in another effort to show suport for 4-H programs. The petition will continue until a change has been decided and will involve the reconsideration of the summer camps going on throughout the summer. The petition is quickly growing to over 1,300 signatures on change.org. Comments included in the petition come from those who have supported the 4-H tradition for 60 years.
Camp and 4-H stories are quickly popping up around the media as the debate gets more heated. Facebook pages and Twitter pages have been created in order to show how much it means to the campers. For more information regarding the 4-H camps go to the Save 4-H Camp Facebook page.
Graphic by Keyla Sosa
