Sherman 4-H, OSU extension hike 35 into outdoor school near Goldendale

By Cindy Brown
OSU Sherman County 4-H Educator

The Sherman County 4-H Day Camp held June 21 and June 22 at Brooks Memorial Retreat Center north of Goldendale resulted in many happy campers!

35 to be exact.

And that’s just the start. They were mentored by six, teen counselors, five adult chaperones and eight instructors that gave the youth an active, educational and fun outdoor experience in the Klickitat County woods and in the Goldendale pool.

It’s not camp without some water time.

Youth just finishing grades 4th-6th enjoyed a wide variety of activities. Those included three meals each day, being a part of a team, tie-dying t-shirts, singing, receiving “good behavior” beads from the counselors, free time games including volleyball and kickball, leathercraft, and garden crafts. There was some good competition as well with field games including team skills and tug of war, the messy games with bubbles, and swimming each day at the Goldendale pool.

This natural resource-based camp was funded in part by the Sherman County 4-H Association, Sherman County Soil & Water Conservation District, Sherman County Prevention, OSU Sherman County Extension, private donations, and camper fees.

The camp focus was “Not all classrooms have four walls”, and campers had outdoor education on delved into some interesting topics.

They learned about bees and pollinators, Leave No Trace when in the outdoors, stream health, hiking to look at flora/fauna/insects, and archery.

It took a great team.

Instructors included Marylou Martin and Erynne Wolfe of Sherman County Soil & Water Conservation District, Lynette Black, Laurie Willhite, Jennifer Rowland, Bill Campbell, Dustin Conroy and Alissa Conroy, all of Washington.

Adult staff serving were Bridget Whitaker as cook, Robin Burgess as nurse/kitchen help, Jeremy Lanthorn as photography/kitchen help/chaperone, and Christian Ayles and Cindy Brown of the Sherman County 4-H office.