Sam and Justin Starceski lead a station about trapping at the 2015 Conservation Field Days event.

Sam and Justin Starceski lead a station about trapping at the 2015 Conservation Field Days

Conservation Field Days Celebrates 50 Years

CONSERVATION FIELD DAYS TO BE HELD MAY 25-26, 2016

-By Kate Ewer, 4-H Community Educator

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (January 20, 2016) -- Cornell Cooperative Extension Chautauqua County’s 4-H Youth Development Program is hosting the 50th annual Conservation Field Days at Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Camp in Bemus Point on May 25th and 26th , 2016.

Conservation Field Days is an opportunity for area 5th graders to learn a variety of conservation related topics. Conservation professionals and enthusiasts volunteer to staff over 35 stations. 1,000 youth from nearly forty schools tour seven stations. Chautauqua County Soil and Water, the Department of Environmental Protection, Audubon, Allegany State Park, Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, Beekeepers Association, and many more local conservation organizations take part to educate youth about conservation in an “out of the classroom” experience.

Conservation Field Days exemplifies the New York State 4-H mission of connecting youth to hands-on learning opportunities that help them grow into competent, caring, contributing members of society. Chautauqua County 4-H is proud to have had the opportunity to offer Conservation Field Days to county youth for fifty years.

The program was created in 1966 by then Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Chautauqua County, Mr. James Gould. Anyone who has taken a part in Conservation Field Days as a youth or as a volunteer is asked to contact the 4-H Office at 664-9502 ext. 212 with their memories and mementos. A celebration of the program’s achievements will be announced at a later date. 

The 4-H Youth Development Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a community based educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University, Chautauqua County Government, the NYS SUNY system, and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated March 17, 2016