RHODODENDRON, Ore. — When people think of 4-H, they might picture livestock barns, county fairs or cooking clubs. But on a late-September weekend at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, Oregon youths in flowing capes, face paint, elf ears and Jedi robes sprinted across the lawn in a flurry of foam swords and fantastic characters.
The Questing Clovers Retreat is a 4-H camp designed by the Oregon State University Extension Service for young people who love gaming, cosplay, anime, tabletop role-playing games, and all things “geek culture.”
“I want to show the kids that I’m an adult now, but I also love all the stuff just like they do. Being vocal helps them be more confident about their interests and what they love.”
The weekend-long retreat encourages youths in grades 7-12 to immerse themselves in creativity, skill-building workshops and playful quests. Like all 4-H programming, these activities are designed to help participants develop leadership, teamwork and other critical skills for their future success.
The idea for Questing Clovers began in 2023. Led by former Marion County 4-H coordinator Dani Davalos, a group of 4-H faculty hoped to create an inclusive, geek-themed overnight camp, open to all and especially designed to welcome socially anxious, LGBTQ+, BIPOC and neurodivergent youths.
Now in its third year, the retreat has hosted more than 180 teens and become a beloved camp for teens who don’t always see their hobbies represented in traditional Extension 4-H programs, offering a space to express themselves and find belonging.
“It’s easy for adults to tell youth that they can be themselves,” said Tracy Wilson, an assistant professor of 4-H youth development in OSU Extension who volunteered to serve as co-director in 2024 after participating as a chaperone in 2023. “But when the youth see the adults at camp geeking out and cosplaying and being whimsical right alongside them, it really does show them that they belong here at Questing Clovers Retreat. “
Finding a place to belong
For cousins Shia Lopez, 15, and Ariana Chavez, 16, both from Dallas in Polk County, Questing Clovers is one of the few places where they feel their peers and adults understand their interests.
“I see a lot of people with similar interests to me or even different interests that are nerdy like mine,” Shia said. “I can learn other interests while also expressing myself without feeling any judgment.”
Her passion is musical theater. In the cosplay contest, she competed as Max Jagerman from Nerdy Prudes Must Die. One of the sessions she was most excited about was Apocalypse First Aid, which she said the theme “sounds fun and cool,” while also teaching real skills to help other people in an emergency.
Shia attended in 2024 and persuaded Ariana to join her this time.
“The one thing I would change is that I really want an actual full summer camp, that’d be so fun,” Shia said. “This place is perfect for me, and I really love it here.”
Shia’s words are encouraging to Cathy Haas, director of the 4-H Youth Development Program. All youths should feel welcomed in 4-H, according to Haas.
“Questing Clovers shows what 4‑H can be when we dream big,” said Haas. “This retreat creates a space where every young person feels they truly belong. It’s not just camp; it’s a celebration of creativity, inclusion and community. Programs like this remind us that belonging isn’t accidental — it’s designed.”
Workshops for every kind of imagination
Across the weekend, campers bounced between sessions like Dungeon Escape, Potions of Healing, Cartography 101, Elven Archery, High Tech Tinkering, Boffering and more, blending real-world STEM skills with creative play.
Lillian Duchateau, 15, returned for her second year, drawn by the camp’s accepting culture and the chance to develop interests she can’t always explore elsewhere.
“A lot of kids in 4-H have these nerdy hobbies, but they don’t know how to show them in their 4-H projects,” she said. “Here, I can actually express my nerdiness and other people will know the shows I’m talking about, like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia.”
Lillian participates in photography and painting in Marion County, and she also spends hours writing stories and drawing characters. At Questing Clovers, those talents became central when playing games that require creativity and imagination, such as Dungeons & Dragons.
For Austin Gallagher, 16, the camp is a place where fantasy worlds come alive. He entered the cosplay competition as the Star Wars character Darth Maul, using self-applied face paint to complete the look.
During the Dungeon Escape session, a chaperone led the kids through a live-action problem-solving challenge inspired by role-playing board game Dungeons & Dragons. Austin, who plays in a 4-H D&D club in Coos County, proudly introduces his character.
“I made a plasmoid rogue named Bubble,” he said. “He’s good at finding traps and exploring dungeons safely.”
For him, the joy comes from embodying the hero he imagines. During boffering sessions — simulated combat using foam swords in LARPing (live-action role-playing) — he sees more than a foam blade.
“I don’t think of it as a boffering sword,” he said. “I’m imagining it as a lightsaber.”
Even the adults get into character
Chaperones didn’t just supervise, they dressed up, played along and became NPCs (“non-player characters”) who gave youth mini-quests throughout the day.
Every camper participates in Questing Time with a main quest — this year was a Quest for the Holy Grail — plus optional side quests scattered throughout camp. Chaperone NPCs offer tasks when campers trigger certain conditions. Completing quests earns Cloverium, small green crystals that youths can trade with the camp merchant for gifts and gear.
Morgan Henson, 4-H program coordinator in Deschutes County and a dedicated D&D fan, teaches the Dungeon Escape session. Henson said the retreat is unlike any other Extension program she’s worked on.
“This week I got to get paid to write a D&D campaign, it’s just like a dream for me,” she said. “It brings together kids who may feel like they don’t belong, either in 4-H or in their everyday lives, showing them everything we have to offer.”
Henson arrived in full Renaissance fair attire: a flowing purple dress, a brown hooded cloak, a leather bodice, a utility belt, medieval boots, and golden speckled temporary tattoos on her cheek. She hopes to help expand the program beyond a once-a-year event.
Longtime 4-H volunteer Zelda Cardon, a student at Linn-Benton Community College, has served as a Questing Clovers volunteer for all three years. She sees her role as helping youths embrace who they are and who they love to be. Her cosplay of Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars with a lightsaber won many compliments from the campers.
“I want to show the kids that I’m an adult now, but I also love all the stuff just like they do,” she said. “Being vocal helps them be more confident about their interests and what they love.”
By the end of the weekend, the real treasure isn’t the Holy Grail, it’s the community they’ve built, one that celebrates their imagination, their fandoms and every part of who they are.
Learn more about how the Questing Clovers retreat promotes youth inclusivity.
Information about sessions for 2026 will be announced in May on the OSU Extension Service 4-H Questing Clovers Retreat webpage.
