UK Happenings

4-H Camp Returns Summer 2021

North Central 4-H Camp is one of four regional camps operated by Kentucky 4-H
North Central 4-H Camp is one of four regional camps operated by Kentucky 4-H. The camps will welcome 4-H'ers this summer. Photo by Matt Barton, UK Agricultural Communications.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 12, 2021) — A long cherished summer activity is returning in 2021. Kentucky 4-H’s four regional camps will open their doors to campers with new, enhanced COVID-19 protocols in place.  

“We are taking additional steps this summer to protect our campers, volunteers and employees,” said Joey Barnard, Kentucky 4-H principal specialist for camping. “We are closely monitoring government policy changes and are following the strict mandatory and recommended best-practice guidance of the American Camp Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal, state and local governments and health departments. We will continue to make changes, as necessary, to our procedures to ensure Kentucky 4-H camping is a safe and healthy experience for camp families.” 

Camps will open at 50% capacity. Campers will be placed in cohorts that will travel to and from activities during the entire week with no interaction with other campers. Cohorts will include youth from two cabins. Young people and camp staff are required to complete a daily screening two weeks leading up to their first day of camp and are encouraged not to travel and limit their contact with others during the same two-week period.  

During camp, campers and staff must wear masks at all times, except when they are sleeping, eating, showering or outside and 6 feet away from others. Campers should plan to bring at least one mask per day and their own hand sanitizer. High traffic areas and restrooms will have soap and water handwashing stations. Cabins, activity areas and high traffic areas will have hand sanitizer. Staff will clean and sanitize high-touch surfaces throughout the day and equipment after each use. 

Camping dates and locations vary among counties. Spots are expected to fill quickly with limited capacity. More information is available online at https://4-h.ca.uky.edu/content/2021-covid-mitigation-plan and at local offices of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.