OSU Extension Sprout Scouts gardening camp blossoms

Since mid-June, the Crook County Fairgrounds has been busy with the excitement of young gardeners.

OSU Extension of Crook County has been hosting Sprout Scouts, a hands-on gardening camp tailored for second and third graders in Crook County. The camp is free and is designed to blend fun, education, hands-on gardening and cooking into each session, while promoting increased fruit and vegetable consumption.

Sprouts Scouts leaders Shawna Holland with OSU Extension SNAP-Ed and Samara Rufener with OSU Extension 4-H spent many hours preparing a space for Sprout Scouts in an abandoned garden located on Crook County Fairgrounds. Many crops were started prior to camp, and campers also planted crops at their first session. Under the guidance of Rufener and Holland, the children have tended to their garden weekly and learned about the importance of growing and consuming healthy foods.

One of the highlights of the camp has been the recipe tasting sessions, where the children used produce from their garden as well as locally sourced fruits and vegetables to create healthy dishes. The crunchy baked kale chips emerged as a unanimous favorite, winning over the young gardeners with their tasty and nutritious crunch.

Camp wasn't without its challenges. During the third week, the Sprout Scouts discovered that a varmint had burrowed into the garden and devoured an entire row of their pea crops. The following week, the same critter moved on to the biggest and most fruitful crookneck squash plant. The children discussed what the culprit could be, and it was decided to capture the elusive varmint on camera. OSU Extension checked out a trail camera from the Crook County Library in hopes of catching the critter in action.

Success! The trail camera captured photos of the critter emerging, chomping down a sunflower and pulling it underground. Though the crop varmint remains unidentified, in the next few weeks it moved on to the corn rows. The children were fascinated by their uninvited guest, who clearly knew the importance of eating healthy.

"Sprout Scouts was the perfect way to introduce a variety of vegetables and fruits as well as the challenges that gardening in Central Oregon provides," said Holland. "We know that growing food highly increases fruit and vegetable consumption by children. Each week, our scouts were enjoying recipes that included veggies such as kale, beets and squash. They were so proud of the vegetables they grew.”

During the Crook County Fair, the Sprout Scouts were able to visit their garden and harvest produce with their families. Although camp is over, the garden itself is producing and being cared for by Holland and Rufener. Rufener reports, “The produce from our Sprout Scouts Garden is now being donated to Share the Bounty and distributed to residents throughout Crook County.”