| | (L to R) 4-Hers Ellen Hopkins, Haley Lavergne, Gabrielle McCorkle, Jordan Semplonius, Kelsey Fontenot, Feliz Dukes, and Akilah Jackson pose in front of the group’s cabin. |
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| | 4-H students dip in to a Tickfaw bayou to sample for aquatic life. |
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| | 4-H students and Assistant Agent Andre’ Brock appear frightened and confused by stuffed museum wildlife. |
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Seven West Feliciana Middle School seventh graders traveled to Tickfaw State Park in Springfield to participate in the 2008 4-H Challenge Camp in early April. Haley Lavergne, Ellen Hopkins, Akilah Jackson, Gabrielle McCorkle, Kelsey Fontenot, Jordan Semplonius, and Feliz Dukes all learned about environmental issues primarily through educational hands-on activities at the park’s facilities. Volunteers Deanna Fontenot and Lori Hopkins helped steer the group in the right direction.
A game in which students pretended to be deer, plants, and water taught them about habitat capacity. Snakes, a tortoise, hissing cockroaches, and even a tarantula were the live subjects of an interesting lecture, and a few brave students even touched the less-dangerous creatures. Four-H’ers experienced wildlife first-hand, spotting an alligator and a water moccasin while walking along the park’s nature trails. The highlight of the trip for many was the opportunity to study native aquatic life by catching them with dip nets.
Lots of fun and learning were packed into two days outdoors and one night “roughing it” in a cabin. The camp is held every spring for seventh-grade 4-H members, bringing together students from many parishes within the region.