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Wyomoco Aims For "Awesome" Experience
By Matt Surtel, The Daily News, 2/25/08
Ask Michael Bonner and he'll rattle off just what
Camp Wyomoco offers every summer.
Bonner, 14, should know. He's been attending for
the past six years, for any number of reasons: Meeting friends
from home and far away, and the sheer scope of activities.
He attended again last July.
"It was awesome," he said on a recent
school holiday. "They have lots of activities. You have a
lot of friends there, and it's really fun.
"There was canoeing, rocketry - when you make
your own rocket and stuff - fishing, and water games in the pond.
There's nature and the outside, and it's really fun."
Bonner's experience wasn't an accident, nor a random
occurrence. In fact, it's just what organizers aim for every year
at the 4-H camp.
And it will be much the same this summer, with weekly
themes including a tropical vacation, pirates and the Olympics.
Not to mention specialty focuses including the annual
horse camp, veterinary science, and more.
"I think we have 18 different program choices
during the day," said Manager Shawn Tiede. "We have
a fairly wide range of campers, and it's a co-ed camp, so we have
lots of different things to take into account when we're planning
our programs."
This year's camp opens the week of July 6, and will
continue through August. It will mix numerous new programs with
the camp's traditional favorites.
Another popular program will be blended with the regular camping
season.
"One of the things we're going to do this year is run our
4-H horse camp in conjunction with week one," he said. "So
there will be an opportunity for our horse camp and our regular
campers to be in camp at the same time."
Gardening science will be among this year's new specialty camps,
he said. The idea is to plant several types of gardens - such
as vegetables, flowers and herbs - which campers will learn to
plant and maintain.
Camp staff are working out a way so the harvests will be served
as part of the camp's dinners.
Tiede said Wyomoco will also offer a special cooking camp for
young people 12 to 16 years old. Planning is still under way,
but the idea is to teach kitchen basics, along with more-advanced
techniques from the experts.
"Our hope is to work with kids and introduce them to locally-grown
products, tour some restaurant kitchens if we can, and have some
of the local cooks and chefs come in to work with the kids - actually
have the kids cookinig each day if we can," Tiede said.
The "Go Wild!" program will teach skills such as building
and maintaining trails and habitats, including hands-on fishing,
trail-building, and forestry, he said.
An additional week has been added for the camp's popular soccer
program, while veterinary science will return.
Beyond that, the regular camp will have its traditional theme
weeks, such as the aforementioned pirate and tropical vacation
activities.
"The overall themes tie the whole week together," Tiede
said. "It doesn't matter if a camper is focused in the horse
area all week or they're doing a variety of things. From day one
when they get to camp, the theme is visible and present throughout
all the evening activities, the campfires and things like that."
That adds up to fun for campers such as Bonner.
"You're always doing something," he said. "And
if you're not in one of the classes, you're in central camp playing
tetherball, foursquare, or whatever... I think everybody will
enjoy it.
"There's stuff for everybody," he continued. "There's
a class for drama and stuff, and everybody will enjoy it."
Attendance isn't limited to 4-H'ers or Wyoming County residents.
The camp has hosted young people from as far away as Florida,
and has expanded its attendance to include people up to 16 years
old.
Which is part of the science for the camp's staff - designing
a week-long experience which is fun and educational for everybody.
"We want to stay ahead of the curve," Tiede said. "You
don't want to get caught behind last year's trends. You want to
stay on top of what youth are looking for, and especially parents.
You've got to make sure it's appealing to the families."
http://www.campwyomoco.com
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