Timpoochee: 4-H Camp in Need of Repairs Following Eta

Clint Thompson Florida, Weather

Hurricane Eta soaked Florida when it made landfall last November. Left in its wake were structures and facilities at Camp Timpoochee, a 95-year-old 4-H camp located along the shore of Choctwhatchee Bay in Niceville, Florida.

Angle

Scott Angle, Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the UF/IFAS, provided an update on what it will take to rebuild and have up and running for children this summer.

“It’s a multi-million-dollar repair. We’re getting started on this now. We hope to get a lot of it done by the summer camping season for 2021,” Angle said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do right now. As a new resident to Florida, I’m learning these are some of the things that you prepare for, but you can’t always predict exactly what Mother Nature’s going to throw at you. You react the best you can after it’s over.”

According to the UF/IFAS, Camp Timpoochee serves more than 800 campers every summer. It provides new opportunities for youth to experience adventure, step out of their comfort zone and make new friends. It’s essential that the 4-H camp gets back up and functional as quickly as possible.

“I still think the best thing that the University of Florida does for the citizens of this great state is 4-H. The university has great teaching and great research, and our Extension programs are phenomenal, but when you think about the future and the way we can touch and change the future through 4-H, there really can’t be many things that are more important than that. We’re all in for 4-H,” Angle said.

Camp Timpoochee is the oldest continually operating 4-H camp in Florida.

About the Author

Clint Thompson

Multimedia Journalist for AgNet Media Inc.