Co-Sponsored with the City of LaSalle Park District
University of Illinois Extension recently held a Find Your Spark in the Park with 4-H camp at Rotary Park in LaSalle. Participants ranged in age from 8-12 and came from all over LaSalle County to attend. The week-long camp featured a different 4-H project area each day for the campers to explore. The sparks (interests) included Poultry, Nature, Sports Nutrition, Aerospace, Cats, and Dogs.
Poultry day included live chickens. The campers learned about the pullets, the stages of development within the eggs, and the parts of an incubator. They learned about how to care for the animals and got to interact with them. On the next day, the campers learned about Sports Nutrition from St. Bede Academy’s wrestling coach, Sam Allen. He taught them about hydration, healthy eating habits, and the importance of daily exercise; they also learned some new exercises and how to monitor their heartrate. Aerospace was a blast! The campers got to design, build, and fly their own rockets. They used a PVC pipe and 2-liter bottle launching pad to try out their designs. On the last day of camp, volunteers from Illinois Valley Animal Rescue came to talk with the youth about cats and dogs. They learned how to care for the animals, groom them, and train them. IVAR volunteers John McKirgan and Bill Jacobsen brought Mayday the Minister, a dog rescued not far from the park the camp was held, to meet the kids, and Marilyn Worsley, a cat volunteer brought some kittens. The nature part of the camp was ongoing and included a little hike and a scavenger hunt. Everyone- even the animals-had a great week!
To learn more about our local 4-H programs please contact Beth Dellatori, 4-H Youth Development Educator at beth5@illinois.edu or call 815-224-0889. You can also visit out local website to see programs in all four of our local counties: Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall, and Putnam, at https://extension.illinois.edu/blmp.
Picture 1 Caption: Ellie Diss holding Diamond
Picture 2 Caption: Campers exercising
Picture 3 Caption: Campers Elizabeth Arnold, Mariah Putnam, and Connor Medina conducting a practice launch with their rocket
Picture 4 Caption: Campers with Mayday and IVAR volunteers
Picture 5 Caption: Campers with “Clover” and “Bud”, 4-H mascots
