4-H Junior Camp is tradition for county youths

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. - The last week of July is a time for Prince William County youth to pack up and “head for the hills”--the Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center on the mountain at Front Royal.

“This has  been a tradition for 25 years and continues to be the most affordable, well-run, fun, overnight camp around. This year was no exception with 140 participants,” said Sharon Race, the camp director for Prince William 4-H.

The teen counselors (ages 14-18) are selected in January, along with counselors in training and campers (ages 9-13) register in April, filling this year’s camp to capacity in just 48 hours.

The center is about an hour’s drive from Manassas and it provides a breath-taking environment, complete with a swimming pool, horse stables, outdoor arena, air rifle range, archery range, lake for boating and fishing and a brand new campfire circle with a capacity of 200 4-H’ers and adults, overlooking the crystal clear lake.

Meals are provided by the 4-H staff in the dining hall and the overnight facilities include four modern dorms. There is a paid  summer staff of 15 at the center and also an adult volunteer staff of 10 to chaperone the camp.

Camp week is shared with youth from Stafford County while all other counties in Northern Virginia participate on different weeks during the summer, Race said.

Each morning begins at 7:45 a.m. with the flag raising ceremony and breakfast, followed by a rotation of three educational and fun classes selected by the campers. The classes range from robotics, newspaper and nature painting, to the ropes course, archery, fishing and canoeing.

These are taught by the professional summer staff and the 4-H adults.

The afternoons include pool time and recreation which is free time to play games, engage in crafts and just enjoy being with friends.

The flags are lowered at the “end of the day” ceremony at 5:45 p.m. and dinner follows with an evening entertainment program which might include a pool party, a carnival complete with games and activities such as sack races or a costume dance for all to have fun. One of the favorites of the 4-H’ers is the nightly campfire which includes camp songs, skits, nature reports and lots of 4-H Spirit.

Race has served a camp director for Prince William 4-H for many years and is dedicated to making camp week special and filled with memories for all of the children.

“There is nothing like being at camp; free of the technology of computers, video game, and cell phones. It is a time to enjoy the outdoors, friends and simply be a kid,” said Race.

4-H camp is also a place for youth to develop life skills and become more independent. Through hand-on activities, 4-H campers acquire valuable life skills, such as taking care of their belongings, sharing tasks, taking responsibility for their actions, finding solutions to problems, adapting to change and listening to the opinion of others.

Though there are more than 14,000 children and teens who participate in the six facilities for 4-H camps across Virginia, it is a fraction of the number who participate throughout the year in 4-H clubs and events dealing with citizenship, leadership, natural resources, expressive arts, animal science and technology to list just a few examples.

For more information about 4-H in the county contact the Virginia Cooperative Extension office at 703-792-6286 or visit the website at www.pwcgov.org/vce/4h.