According to an article by A Childs Mind Institute, the average American child is said to spend 4 to 7 minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors, and more than 7 hours a day in front of a screen. And as suburbs and exurbs continue to expand, nature is parceled off more and kids seem less inclined to spend time in a fenced-in yard, let alone jump the fence into a neighbor’s or walk in the woods. Instead, indoor activities can seem easier (no sunscreen necessary!), safer, and even more sociable for kids who are growing up with multiplayer video games and social-media accounts.

The CES 4-H Agent has taken the mission of educating local children on the benefits of nature and caring for the environment seriously.  The CES has hosted an environmental educational day for many years, and this year had almost 1,000 4^th grade students participate in hands-on, educational activities that taught them about nature.  The CES wants the kids to experience nature to the point they want to be in it more.  

The CES also has another delivery method in teaching about the environment, which is an overnight environmental camp.  The CES worked with a local, private school to provide an overnight camp for 4^th grade students at Model Elementary.  The CES scheduled with the 4-H Camp to find two days available that the camp could to accommodate our group.  The CES used 4-H activities from Project Wild, Project WET, 4-H Entomology, and Project Learning Tree to create diverse nature classes.  The CES also recruited instructors for canoeing and archery to create more outdoor opportunities for the participants.  

Over the course of two days, the campers learned about wildlife, animal and bird adaptions herpetology, and entomology; dissected owl pellets; performed a live pond study; hiked in nature; and much more.  These camps are extremely beneficial to the children and the method of the delivery which is being outdoors for two days straight helps the learning process.  

Model will continue to collaborate with CES in the environmental camp in the future.  Mrs. Vohl, the 4^th grade science teacher, said, “I love that you cover a ton of information that will be on the state test.  It’s one thing for me to teach it in a classroom, but for 4-H to create events like this where kids can not only learn but experience nature is something I cannot offer without you.”