2022 Farm Safety Day Camp

In May of 2022 The Butler County Extension Service worked with several community partners to offer the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day Camp for all the 4^th graders in our community.  All of the office staff worked to make the day a success.  The program was held at the extension office because of the unique capabilities of our facility, and the willingness of our staff to support the event.  The 4-H agent Lloyd Saylor served on the planning committee and was able to bring the large event to the extension office.  Several local organizations and businesses helped by providing resources like hats to help identify camper groups, food for the campers, food for the volunteers, presenters for the demonstrations, and volunteers to set up and clean up. 

Community partners included:  Butler County FFA, Butler County Family Resource and Youth Service Center, Butler County Schools and their food services, our local electric co-op, the Army Corps of Engineers, the KY State Police, the KY Department of Agriculture, the city of Morgantown, and Big Country Power Sports (ATV dealer).  Local volunteers led sessions on firearm safety and lawn mower safety. 

The extension service provided staff support to make sure the event ran smoothly.  We provided signage, cleaning and food supplies, communications and computer support, support of all of the feeding and logistic operations, and assisted with warehousing supplies leading up to the event.  4-H members served as group leaders, prepared food, and cleaned up after the event.  Paper evaluations were completed after the event by both the participants and the volunteers.  There were 167, 4^th graders that participated from 3 schools.  There were 48 adult and teenage volunteers including Miss Haley Wheeler (Miss KY 2022) who came from the Secretary of Ag.’s office, that worked to make the program a success. Additionally over $2200 in items and funds were donated by local businesses.

Surveys of participants showed that their favorite part of the day was the session led by our nutrition educator on the importance of eating healthy. ATV Safety, Firearms safety, WRECC electrical demonstration, and Miss KY rounded out the top five presentations. Camper evaluations showed that 148 of the 167 campers thought they learned more than in a regular school day or field trip.

We hope to host the event here in the future because we were able to offer a safe fun and educational environment for our Youth.