Hello everyone, my name is Petter, and I am an alumni member of 4H Norway. From the 8th to the 15th of July, this year’s Nordic 4H camp was held in Lom, Norway.
The camp gathered more than 600 participants from Norway, Denmark, Finland, as well as some participants from Germany, Switzerland, The United States, and Taiwan that participated through the International 4H Youth Exchange Program (IFYE).
Lom is a small village with approximately 2000 inhabitants. For thousands of years, Lom has connected the western and eastern parts of Norway and has, therefore, a rich history with many interesting traditional handicrafts. The area is magically placed between some of northern Europe’s tallest peaks, which, by the way, are full of beautiful glaciers and inhabited by wild reindeer. A magnificent place to host a Nordic 4H Camp!
The theme of the Nordic camp was “Make your own fairytale,” and the week was packed with fun, learning-filled, and adventurous activities. For some, the highlight was to climb Norway’s tallest peak, Galdhøpiggen, at 2469 meters above sea level. The hike included a crossing of a Glacier, a crossing that needs to be done by walking in a rope-team in case anyone were to fall through the snow into one of the glacier’s deep cracks.
For others, the highlight was to visit the “climate park 2469,” a park where you can go for a walk underneath a glacier – or to win the volleyball or tug-of-war tournament. The tug-of-war tournament was won by my home county, by the way (shout out to Vestfold!)
As mentioned, Lom is quite an historical place and hosts several interesting museums that showcase many of the archaeological finds that have been done in the area. Due to global warming, the glaciers are retreating faster than ever before. Even though everyone wished this did not happen, the retreating glaciers are revealing many historical artifacts, which underlines the importance of Lom’s location throughout thousands of years. In Lom, you may also find one of Norway’s oldest stave churches (finished around the year 1170), and Norway’s most famous bakery, which I encourage you to stop by if you ever were to be in the area. I’m sure the bakery welcomed hundreds of 4H members that week.
The Nordic 4H camp 2023 was a huge success, and many participants approached me towards the end of the camp, eagerly talking about how they wished it lasted longer or showing their excitement towards already signing up for next year’s 4H camp, which will be placed in Voss, Norway’s extreme sport capital. Stay tuned!
