Winter Gathering is a (a little over) a week away, and we're (a little over) a week into Registration!

The trees are bare, the air is consistently chilly, and it's Thanksgiving Week, so that means our WINTER GATHERING is right around the corner. If you haven't attended before, Gathering is a great little afternoon reunion, and a taste of Summer Camp in the wintertime. We'll have some activities, some crafts, some food, some news, some announcements, and some surprises, but the main event is always just a little quality time with the Camp Family.

Get more info and RSVP here!

ALSO!

Polar Bear Registration has now been open for ten days and we're already nearly...

We've been blown aways by the excitement our Camp Families have shown for signing up for early during Polar Bear so far. 

You've still go over a month left in Polar Bear Registration to join in on the fun, or to send other new families our way and join our Lantern Program.

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving gathering with your family, we'll hope to see you not long after to Gather with your Camp Family as well!

Summer 2020 Registration...NOW OPEN!

Sign up now!

Polar Bear Registration (featuring first pick of sessions, first pick of classes, and the lowest rate we offer...) ends on December 31st.

Two Days Till POLAR BEAR REGISTRATION!

Yes, Registration for Summer 2020...

Opens this Friday,

November 15th!

And if you were feeling...

Like it was still TOO EARLY...

For Polar Bear Registration to begin...

This little bit of snow...

Arrived at 4-H Camp...

To reassure us that we're right on time.

Register online during Polar Bear starting on Friday!

Get in touch with us at the Camp Office (973-948-3550) with any and all Summer 2020 questions.

New Classes for 2020!

POLAR BEAR Registration opens this Friday, November 15th, so let's keep getting pumped for Summer 2020 by taking a look at our three new classes!

Extreme Crafts

(Offered Period 1)

4-H Camp always tries to take a good idea as far it can possibly go, and that’s exactly what we’re going for with the new take on an old idea that is: Extreme Crafts. No class is more “classic Camp” than Arts and Crafts, and our new Extreme Crafts class is taking it out of the Craft Shop, putting it on a way larger scale, and seeing just how wacky “arts and crafts” can get. The agenda is filled with mud-painting and mixing, some large and unorthodox canvas creations, eco-art challenges, and who-knows-what-other-wild-ways-to-create memorable and larger than life art all over 4-H Camp. 

Sustainability 

(Offered Period 3)

4-H Camp is home to all of us, and we all take care of it together. But Camp can also help us learn how to best take care of all of our many homes: our towns, our communities and our world.  4-H Camp is a wonderful small-world laboratory to discover some tactics for responsible living. Our new Sustainability class will let our campers experiment hands on with how best to treat our Camp resources by learning how to conserve water, control food waste, compost for our Canoe-nity Garden, and create the best environmental impact possible in our day to day Camp-life.

Lawn Games Tournament

(Offered Period 2)

We’ve super-charged our Lawn Games class with the new Lawn Games Tournament! Central to everything we do at 4-H Camp is the notion that it’s just fun to play outside, and Lawn Games Tournament is built on that idea.Teams will be formed, team names christened, chants chanted, and campers will experience both the glory of victory and the laughter of leisure game defeat. Ladder ball, bags, bocce ball, can jam, horseshoes, and all sorts of others (including some good Camp-only creations) will be on the docket as campers take the concept of just enjoying playing outside to the next level.

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Of course, in addition to these brand-new classes we have over 30 different class options to choose from each summer, ranging from old favorites to exciting recent additions (new favorites). At registration, campers select THREE to enjoy during their week.

Check them all out in our Course Offerings Guide to start planning your sessions for Summer 2020!

Summer '19: Video O'Clock!

Yes, we are only ONE WEEK away from the opening of Registration for Summer 2020! 




We usually just stick to photos on the ol' Camp Blog, but to celebrate the imminent start of registration (and since 2020 is decidedly the FUTURE), we're sharing a few videos our campers have sent our way!



We've got a montage of some of our good, beloved Camp scenery from Fall Family Hike Day:

And, we've got an original Camp tune captured in time from one of our closing campfires:

And, while you're at it, you can check out a Rutgers University promo highlighting last summer's generator project!



Enjoy, and we'll see you next week with more Summer 2020 news!

Donna MacNeir, Former Camp Director, Inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame!

One of our own has made the big time!!!

Yes, we are so proud of Donna MacNeir, a long-time member of our 4-H Camp community, who on October 11th was inducted into the National 4-H Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

During her time at 4-H Camp, Donna was in charge of rental group recruitment, facility maintenance, recruitment and training of summer camp staff, and more. Notable accomplishments during her time in this position included a financial gift for infrastructure upgrades at the NJ 4-H Camp from the Dean of Cook College and another award to establish a fishing program. (As fishing is one of our campers' favorite methods to while away a Camp morning or afternoon, we're still grateful for that!)

Here's Donna on her multitude of roles at 4-H Camp:

"I’m not at all good talking about myself, but here I go: I started to attend 4-H Camp when I was 11. It was just something our 4-H Club, in Camden County did. Camp back then had a different delivery model; each County had an assigned week and 4-H leaders and teens served as counselors. I made lifelong friendships and keep in touch with many through my camp experience. 

So I attended county camp as a camper, counselor, one year as a camp staff member, then again as a counselor for winter camp weekends, organized County Camps for Camden County; volunteer at “work weekends” to get camp ready for summer and then in 1983 was hired as Assistant Director at Lindley G. Cook. I held that role, until I became Interim Director. I retired from Rutgers in 1999 to move to Iowa, to become the State 4-H Camp Manager. And I have met Lindley G. Cook. What a man!"

Appropriately for autumn, Donna also shared one of her favorite photographs of the drive down Struble road toward 4-H Camp:

Donna continues to be a wonderful support of L.G. Cook 4-H Camp, as a donor, a long-distance support, and an active member of our Camp community.

Or as Donna put it:

"Most importantly, I am humbled on how many former camp staff are my friends on social media. I was their boss and now they are friends."

We know this honor is well deserved, and we're thrilled Donna received the recognition. Congrats from your 4-H Camp family!