The Kentucky 4-H Environmental Education Camp (EE CAMP) Program aims to provide elementary students with an opportunity to learn about Kentucky’s natural resources in an out of school setting.  The program is designed for 4th and 5th grade classrooms with tailored lesson plans that supplement Next Generation Science Standards.  Class instructors provide meaningful, hands-on programs to educate youth in environmental sciences along with cross-cutting concepts to bolster their in-class learning. 

While there are day camp options available that include up to 200 instructional minutes, this isn’t your standard “field trip”.  Most participating schools choose the overnight package that includes 350 minutes of instructional nature classes during the day, a 60-minute educational evening activity, 3 meals and a snack, and an overnight stay in a climate-controlled cabin with their classmates and chaperones. 

Classes are led by trained interns who have a passion for teaching youth about the great outdoors around them.  Each of the four 4-H Camps has a unique menu of classes to choose from that complements the natural setting of their location using curriculum from Project WET, Project WILD, Project UNDERGROUND, 4-H curriculum, and many others. Educational classes include content on lake studies, Kentucky history, animal tracks, nocturnal animals, owl pellets, cave studies, enviroscape, nature hikes, Kentucky mammals, bird adaptations, and even more are added each season. Recreational classes include fishing, archery, and teambuilding. 

During the 2024 program year, 74 Kentucky schools representing 19 counties, participated in 4-H EE Camp. 5,288 students, 1,560 volunteer adults, and 92 extension staff were present for day and overnight programs.  A survey conducted to more than 1,700 students and 500 chaperones found that 70% of students experienced their first outside of school mentor at EE Camp, 80% of students felt they accomplished a new goal or learned a new skill because of their instructor, and 95% of adult volunteers say being a part of a group working toward a common goal had a positive effect on them.