Many youth in Henderson County want to learn more about the environment and want to immerse themselves in nature. With Henderson County having a state park, the Ohio and Green River, and many local parks the Henderson County 4-H program decided to utilize the Henderson County Parks Department and utilize one of their large acre parks with fishing ponds to put on a two-day natural resource day camp.  

During the day camp, students rotated among educational stations that focused on different environmental topics. Topics on day one included dissecting and learning more about owl pellets, fishing, bird migration, bat echolocation, and a visit from the Kentucky Reptile Zoo. The Kentucky Reptile Zoo brought a diverse selection of reptiles for students to see and learn how each of those reptiles contributes to their habitat and ecosystem. The kids were very engaged with the Kentucky Reptile Zoo representative and used their critical thinking skills to ask a variety of questions about each reptile. During the second day, youth learned more about composting, made a birdhouse, and fished. For some youth this was their first-time fishing or touching a fish. A member of the Henderson County Bass Fishing Team was able to teach youth the correct way to cast and release fish back to the pond as well as the importance of fishing as it relates to the environment.  

This day camp has served as an environmental education tool that has been able to increase student awareness about the environment and encourage long-term environmental stewardship. It was also a way to introduce one of the large parks that Henderson County has to offer. There were 29 youth ranging from 9-14 that participated in the day camp. Each day, students were given the opportunity to apply scientific processes and higher order thinking skills as they were exposed to different environmental topics. The objectives of the program are for participants to leave inspired and empowered to become responsible, productive, and participatory individuals pertaining to the environment.