LOUP LINES
Lower Loup Natural Resources District
Alan Bartels, Information & Education Coordinator
Volume 45, No. 6 (June 2024)

ACE Camp is back!

The Adventure Camp about the Environment has educated hundreds of Nebraska middle schoolers while immersing them in the subtle beauty of Nebraska’s scenic Sandhills region. Campers are entertained, they make lasting friendships, and each one leaves camp with a stronger connection to the natural resources of our part of the world and an appreciation for the outdoors.

The popular 4-day, 3-night summer youth camp founded jointly by the Upper Loup NRD and Lower Loup NRD in 2010 has been a success thanks to partnerships with University of Nebraska Extension, the Nebraska Forest Service, the Nebraska National Forest and Bessey Nursery, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, and several other NRDs.

Experts from those organizations give presentations and lead field trips or conduct educational games and activities so enjoyable that the students – divided into groups such as the Nature Ninjas, Dynamic Deer, and Raging Rivers – have so much raucous fun that they don’t always realize that they are also learning.

Sessions teach about topics like edible plants, entomology, wildlife, soil, and nature photography. New for 2024 will be a session from UNL staff about solar-powered cars, and the Lower Loup NRD’s always popular Water Quality session gets the kids out into the river with nets to scoop up crawfish, insects, small fishes, and other aquatic life including the occasional frog, tadpole, or turtle. Of course, the camp includes fishing, paddling kayaks or canoes, and campfires! The outdoor activities end on the final day of camp with Water Rockets created by the campers blasting off into the blue Nebraska sky.

For more than a decade, ACE Camp took over the Nebraska State 4-H Camp near Halsey for several days each June. The Bovee Fire in 2023 destroyed the cabins and lodge and left ACE Camp homeless. We were disappointed to not have ACE Camp in 2023, but we are excited to announce that ACE Camp is back for 2024. Right now, we are preparing to resurrect ACE Camp at Kamp Kaleo near Burwell.

ACE Camp will be June 23-26 and is open to youth who completed 6th or 7th grades during the 2023-2024 school year that want to learn about natural resources while experiencing a truly unique Nebraska adventure.

The cost is $235 per camper. The Lower Loup NRD offers a $100 scholarship for campers who live in the district. Please contact us for details. Several other NRDs offer scholarships to children from their districts who attend ACE Camp. The deadline to register for this year’s camp is June 7, 2024.

Visit www.LLNRD.org for more information or to register for the ACE Camp adventure.

Cue the Water Rockets!