“It looks a little different every day,” says Lone Oaks Farm director Ron Blair as he drove around the facility in spring of 2022, “Sometimes a lot different.”
He pointed to construction in two different areas—the latest projects on the upcoming University of Tennessee 4-H Center and Camp at Lone Oaks Farm in Hardeman County. One is a state-of-the-art STEM learning center, and the other is a set of cabins overlooking the farm.
The UT Institute of Agriculture has owned Lone Oaks Farm for six years, and in the last year, the farm has been through accelerating changes. Those updates include two STEM education buildings, groundwork for interactive teaching gardens, and the new 4-H cabins.
Overlooking all of it is the slim sprig of a young oak tree, the farm’s new Lone Oak, planted last April near the construction site. The planting signals the end of life of the original oak, and the start of a new season at the farm.
It will be a season that sends thousands of children to summer camp every year, as the only 4-H Center in West Tennessee. This farm is being built to shape the lives of students from the region, some of whom have never stepped foot into nature. The immersive camp will allow them to swim in lakes, grow their own food, and learn about the world around them.
“I understand how important and life-changing something like a 4-H camp is,” Blair continues. “We change kids’ lives every day at Lone Oaks Farm. We give them understanding and possibilities to see what their future can hold, from degrees in agriculture to vocational training and other opportunities.”
By fall, the cabins will be ready, and the students already attending for STEM classes will have overnight camp opportunities. Lone Oaks Farm will enter a new season, with a new tree, and new opportunities for all who visit.
The new tree is a cherrybark red oak whose acorn was harvested from the Wolf River bottomlands. It germinated at the State of Tennessee’s East Tennessee state nursery and was selected among thousands to become the new “Lone Oak.” Planted near what will soon be an interactive learning garden, the tree will be visible to everyone who comes to Lone Oaks Farm.
The Sunset Cabins overlook the valley at Lone Oaks Farm, showcasing the farm’s sweeping view of the western sky. The cabins will house up to sixty-four students at a time and are just the first set in other cabin structures to be built.
Besides that, the facility itself has won awards. The Clays at Lone Oaks Hunter Education Center was named Project of the Year for the American Institute of Architects Kansas City. The award cited the “exploration in agrarian typology,” seamlessly molding the building to the surroundings.
This spring, Ron Blair and Allan Houston of Ames AgResearch and Education Center planted the new Lone Oak Tree in preparation for the old one to eventually succumb to age and the elements. The new tree is a cherrybark red oak whose acorn was harvested from the Wolf River bottomlands. It germinated at the State of Tennessee’s East Tennessee state nursery and was selected among thousands to become the new “Lone Oak.” Planted, with the help of area 4-H’ers, near what will soon be an interactive learning garden, the tree will be visible to everyone who comes to Lone Oaks Farm.
It’s hard to imagine a more fitting start: 4-H’ers caring for a tree to last generations, in the very place that will care for and nourish their needs as they grow into tomorrow’s leaders.
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