May 26, 2015
AG Camp: Seeing & Being in Agriculture
Most children don’t know that milk comes from cows, or that pizza comes from flour that is ground from wheat, sauce that is made from tomatoes, and that pepperoni is made from pork and beef. Sadly, as adults, many of us don’t know much more.
To address this lack of familiarity with agriculture, Don Peterson, Council Grove, has a vision to educate youth about how our food is produced and make it fun. To accomplish that goal, he has created two summer camps for youth completing grades 3-12 this summer as a program of White Memorial Camp, where he also serves on their board of directors.
Ag campers will stay at White Memorial Camp and board buses to tour ranches to see, firsthand, how cattle, sheep, swine, meat goats and buffalo are raised; farm operations to learn about wheat, corn, soybeans and hay; a grain elevator; a dairy farm and maybe even a sale barn. They will return to the camp each evening for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, campfires, zip lining and other camp activities, too. Campers are housed in air-conditioned cabins with qualified counselors, some of whom have an agricultural background.
Junior Camp for youth completing grades 3-6 is August 2-5. A Senior Camp for older students completing grades 7-12 is August 5-8. Cost for either camp is $90 which is subsidized in part by generous sponsors. There are several additional organizations helping to launch this special camp: Flint Hills Extension District, Council Grove FFA (USD #417), and Tri-County Telephone Association.
White Memorial Camp is located on Council Grove Reservoir, just North of Council Grove, Kansas, right in the heart of the Kansas Flint Hills. For more information and camper registration, contact https://whitememorialcamp.com/ag-camp-seeing-being-in-agriculture.