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Campers at the 2021 “Conservation Day Camp Space Camp” were excited to be taking part in a fun-filled three days of camp after last year’s pandemic. Celebrating our 24th year, the Shelby County Conservation Day Camp was held at the Shelby County Fish and Game, June 22 through 24. Our days were active, keeping our 134 young conservationists engaged by tie-dying T-shirts, painting moonrocks, engineering an egg drop, learning about spiced up space food, taking a journey through the stars with Boonshoft Museum, space sounds with Armstrong Space Museum, planting terrariums, going on a scavenger hunting with GPS technology, rockets, archery, fishing and much, much more!

Camp wouldn’t be possible without our tremendous presenters who give their time for our campers. A big “thank you” to our presenters for making the camp great: Joy Aufderhaar and Mary Mathews of Shelby County Farm Bureau; Rhonda Farley, National Wild Turkey Federation; Jackson Center FFA; Linda Raterman, Miami SWCD; Fairlawn FCCLA; Liz Farver, Darke County SWCD; Shelby County Master Gardeners; Jessica Adams and Morgan Meyer, OSU Extension Shelby County; and Ella Aufderhaar, Emma Pax, Evan Aufderhaar and Kaitlin Kinsella our teen presenters. Additional assistance was provided by Chris Chandler and Casey Copeland.

Additional thanks to our counselors and counselors in training who help us make so much of camp possible: Malina Chappie, Ella Aufderhaar, Katie Chandler, Katelyn Kinsella, Emma Keyken, Brooke Pettus, Brooklyn Cruse, Evan Michael, Ryan Michael, Karli Ann Hiler, Courtney Copeland, Braxton Brewer, Avian Zimpfer, Chloe Pax, Wyatt Wentz and Allee Wentz. These young leaders are the backbone of making Conservation Day Camp a positive experience for the children. All of our volunteers ensured the camp was a fun, educational, happy, and safe event.

Conservation Day Camp is sponsored jointly by the Shelby County Farm Bureau and Shelby Soil and Water Conservation District. This year we had generous donations that allowed us to make all the great opportunities for campers possible. A special thanks to these sponsors: WhiteTails Unlimited, Pioneer Electric, Koenig Equipment, Cargill, Farm Credit Mid-America, the Northwest Ohio Solid Waste District, Precision Agri Service Inc, Curly’s Meats, The Community Foundation of Shelby County, Choice One Engineering Corp., B&B Ag Advantage, Eilerman Insurance, Buckeye Ford Lincoln, Osgood State Bank, Wells Brothers, Weigandt Landscaping Co., and Mike Bensman. These great sponsors allowed us to continue this great opportunity for our youth in the county.

Stay tuned for details of Conservation Day Camp 2022. The camp will be open to children who have finished grades two through five at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. We will also be seeking enthusiastic counselors. Watch the Shelby County Farm Bureau and Shelby Soil and Water Conservation District’s Facebook pages and websites for more information.