Successful 5th Annual ACE Camp

      From June 15th through June 18th, campers from across the state of Nebraska attended the fifth annual Adventure Camp about the Environment (ACE) at the State 4-H Camp near Halsey. The camp drew in 32 campers and included some previous campers, too. Many of the campers attended the camp through a scholarship from their local NRD.
      The educational camp focused on forestry, rangeland, water quality, soils and wildlife. Campers had the chance to get their hands dirty and experience nature in many activities, as well as fun time in the river, and building water rockets. The campers also participated in competition activities with outdoor cooking, fishing, a scavenger hunt, geocaching, and other games. This was a great opportunity for the campers to learn more about nature and the natural resources in our area.
      This year was the fifth year for the ACE Camp. In June of 2010, the first Adventure Camp about the Environment was held with a total of 55 campers from across the state. The ACE Camp Committee hopes to continue this camp for many more successful years. KNOP-TV News from North Platte captured a few moments from the camp on Monday and aired the story that evening and night.
      The camp was sponsored and organized by the Nebraska Natural Resources Districts (NRDs), the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) and the Hooker County Turner Youth Initiative. Presenters from the NRD's, NRCS office, UNL extension office, and Nebraska Game and Parks also helped to make the ACE Camp a great learning experience for the kids. With the help from these sponsors, partners and presenters from year to year, ACE Camp beomes a huge success.
      Local ACE Camp Scholarship Recipients from the Upper Loup NRD were J. Russell McMillan of Milburn, Aubrey Schultis and Jared Schultis of Tryon, Hollianna Watson of North Platte, and Taylor Downing of Dunning.
      Adventure Camp about the Environment is an annual camp beginning the third week of June. For more information about the camp you can look under the Education Tab, then click on Camps & Scholarships.