Best Week Ever

By the end of his first week at 4-H summer camp, fifth grader Cooper Hardy already had many memories of new and exciting experiences. “That was the first time I got in a canoe,” Hardy said. “It was a big deal for me.” 

Now, 10 years later, Hardy serves as a Georgia 4-H camp counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia. It’s a dream he’s held since the first time he set foot on the sprawling, wooded 1,500-acre campus as a camper. 

Hardy, who is currently an agricultural communication major at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, can trace his path there back to 4-H and summer camp.

Summer camp with Georgia 4-H offers an experience that is unparalleled across the nation. Five residential 4-H centers, stretching from the state’s mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, offer weeklong adventures every June and July. 

Every summer, thousands of children and teenagers load up in buses and vans at UGA Cooperative Extension offices and wave goodbye to their parents, many for the first time, and head to camp. 

Most campers remember that week of camp for their entire lives.

Wahsega 4-H Center, nestled on either side of Ward Creek in the north Georgia mountains, is the oldest of the Georgia 4-H centers. Campers step off the bus and immediately hear a bubbling waterfall and smell the mountain air. 

Other campers settle into a natural wonderland at Fortson 4-H Center, 100 miles south of the Wahsega Center in Hampton, Georgia. There, they are surrounded by a quiet forest with a bustling farm and a glistening pond.

Experiencing the outdoors as a classroom is a foundational principle for all activities that take place at the state’s 4-H centers. A week of summer camp immerses campers in the beauty of Georgia’s natural environments. 

Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island, Georgia, is surrounded by a salt marsh that changes with the tide. 

Palmettos and palms dot the grounds of Georgia 4-H at Camp Jekyll as the crash of the waves echoes down the boardwalk that leads to the ocean. 

Most 4-H’ers become eligible to attend camp in fifth grade. Like Hardy, their weeks of camp are full of firsts. In groups of old and new friends, campers enjoy the thrill of summertime independence. 

The enthusiastic camp counselors who wait for those buses of 4-H’ers to roll into the centers are equally excited. To prepare, counselors at all five 4-H centers receive extensive training in positive youth development and are poised to provide that best-week-ever experience.

“This is the best job in the world,” Hardy said, without hesitation. “Most of us came to camp in elementary school and knew that, from the first week, this was our dream.” 

No two days at camp are the same. Each facility offers engaging classes that connect campers to the people and the world around them. Archery, canoeing, herpetology, hiking and high-ropes courses are favorites at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. The 110-acre lake provides a perfect setting for a lake ecology class, while other centers offer stream, ocean, beach and marsh ecology education. Plenty of encounters with native animals and plants add to the rich curriculum. 

Like most summer programs for youth, safety and fun are essential components of every activity. Enriching activities allow youth to thrive, and character-building offerings increase mastery, generosity, belonging and independence. 

Trusted and trained county 4-H employees and volunteers join camp counselors in coaching youth through the challenges of building teams, sharing living spaces, competing in groups and creating an inclusive environment. The aspiration is to send campers home as better versions of themselves.

Life-changing opportunities at camp continue beyond Cloverleaf 4-H camp for fifth and sixth grade children. Seventh and eighth grade 4-H’ers in Junior 4-H camps and high school 4-H’ers in Senior camps take the summer experience to the next level, pursuing opportunities for pioneer camping, white-water rafting, river cruises and exploring in-depth curricula curated by UGA Extension specialists. 

As one of four core programs of Georgia 4-H, summer camp contributes directly to the mission of assisting youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills and forming attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive, contributing members of society. 

For the camper, that looks like a jam-packed week of nonstop excitement, tons of time in the water, too many snacks from the canteen and late nights laughing from the top bunk. 

For the camp counselors, it is the opportunity to invest in the next generation of leaders. 

For everyone involved, it is the best week ever.