Any youth ages 5-18 (as of January 1st) is eligible to participate in the 4-H youth development program. Youth in Clay and Fillmore Counties need to enroll by April 1st to take advantage of this excellent opportunity. This year, all youth will register online at ne.4honline.com. We also need caring adults to help volunteer with the program and volunteers also need to enroll online. If you have any further questions, please contact Holly at the Fillmore County Extension office at 402-759-3712 or Deanna in Clay County at 402-762-3644.
All across Nebraska 4-H youth are beginning to select their 4-H projects for 2018! Let the Nebraska 4-H Pick Your Project help connect you with projects that fit your interests and skill levels!
The interactive, web-based Nebraska 4-H Pick Your Project is found online at http://4hcurriculum.unl.edu. Use this as a guide when completing your enrollment form. Check out the curriculum and spark an interest in a new project for this year!
Locally, some programs coming up include Youth Animal Science Day and the kick-off of a Plant Science Investigation series which I’ll describe.
4-H Animal Science Day
Coming to Geneva on Sunday, March 18th is a short animal science program (FREE) which will offer a livestock judging contest, a face to face Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA) program, tips for your livestock projects and other fun hands-on animal science activities. This requires a lot of planning and assistance so if you are interested in participating, sign up by March 14th. There must be a minimum of 25 youth in order for this program to occur; invite your friends from neighboring counties too! RSVP to the Fillmore County Extension office at 402-759-3712 or by email Rachel at rachel.adam@unl.edu.
Plant Science Investigation (PSI) & Community Garden
Have a green thumb? Interested in gardening? If you answered yes to any of those questions, join the PSI and/or Community Garden teams this year. Here’s what you can learn about in PSI:
- Learn about the importance of agriculture and how crops are used.
- Conduct cool, hands-on science experiments.
- Listen to speakers and learn about careers.
- Help conduct field plot research.
- Become a PSI investigator and detect plant problems.
The program will kick-off in Fillmore County at the Extension office on March 9th from 2pm – 4pm. Youth in Clay County can attend the program at the Clay County Fairgrounds on March 9th from 10-Noon. We will learn about plant propagation methods and more!
If you are unable to participate in this program, there will be more opportunities through the growing season. For youth in Fillmore County, we will continue the Community Garden and be partnering with the Geneva Library as well. If you are interested, please let the Extension office know by April 1st.
Views from VanDeWalle 