With the primary goal of the Kentucky 4-H Clover Bud program being to promote children’s healthy development – mentally, physically, socially and emotionally, the West KY 4-H Clover Bud Family camp and its team of agent coordinators worked hard to provide an excellent opportunity for children ages 5-8 and their families to learn about the world around them, develop positive attitudes about learning new things by hands-on involvement, develop a deeper relationship with a caring adult and learn about the 4-H Youth Development Program in Kentucky, specifically 4-H Camp. 

In 2022, the 4-H agent planning committee implemented the 13^th consecutive 4-H Cloverbud Family Camp at the West KY 4-H Camp in Dawson Springs, KY. Simpson County had 6 Cloverbuds and 6 parents to attend camp this year.  Overall there were 165 people at camp, 85 of which were Cloverbuds.  This is double or a 100% increase over last year.

The camp evaluation revealed that 58% of the Clover Buds accomplished something that they thought they could not do and 51% mastered a new skill at camp. This new skill could have been learning how to canoe, making granola bars, or learning about bees. Clover Bud campers were able to enjoy many of the same classes that our summer camps offer 4-H youth ages 9 and up. Clover Buds enjoyed nature class the most with canoeing and cooking close behind. Since each Clover Bud camper attended camp with a caring adult, many opportunities were given for them to develop a deeper relationship. One parent commented that is loved the time away with her daughter and for her daughter to be unplug.  Some of the other comments given about the participants favorite parts of camp were meeting new friends and being outdoors.  

In addition to the primary goals of Kentucky 4-H Clover Buds, the mission of the Kentucky 4-H Camping program is to improve the lives of people through intentional life skill development.  The West KY 4-H Clover Bud Camp and the 4-H Camping Program exhibited a high quality collaboration effort in building life skills and creating lasting memories.