Rowan County 4-H Council had identified environmental education as a need for local students once again. Rowan County Extension 4-H Youth Development agent partnered with Friends of Rodburn Hollow to conduct Youth Environmental Day.

Rodburn Hollow Park was closed for five days in September to accommodate over 500 students in the fourth and fifth grades from Clearfield, McBrayer, Tilden Hogge and Rodburn Elementary Schools. The students were able to “Journey into the Woods” to experience a variety of workshops offered at 4-H Environmental Youth Day hosted by Rowan County Extension Service, the Morehead Parks & Recreation and Friends of Rodburn Hollow Park.  Over the five days, 18 different workshops were offered to the students who were able to participate in six workshops.

Students were divided into groups and had the opportunity to visit each station that consisted of Archery, Monarchs, Stream Study, Maps, Composting, Water Quality, Creature Feature, Environmental Games, Dendrology, and Cockroaches. The volunteers had multiple hands-on activities to help engage students at each station. In working with local teachers, these classes were identifies as covering a broad range of the science curriculum. 

Students and teachers alike appreciated this Environmental Day Camp where students and teachers were heard proclaiming: 

-“It was a really fun experience. I learned a lot of things! My favorite activity was the tracking station. Getting to make a deer paw print was exciting”.

-“I liked dendrology the study of trees because we all learned tips of trees and I also liked the story of the yety”.

-“The environmental field trip helped me learn and experience nature first hand. Plus I really enjoyed it”.

-“I loved how were outside and how nice everyone was. The journey sticks were cool! I loved how it was set up. We got to walk around and not sit all day”.

-“Our students had a great time and made many wonderful memories. The addition of the journey stick was an excellent idea”.

-“Seriously, one of my favorite field trips”.

A 6-month evaluation will be conducted for more results.