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Citizenship/Leadership Through Science

Citizenship/Leadership Through Science

Image of Fishstory website

The Fishstory website where you will do your citizen science activities.

4-H members and volunteers are always seeking new ideas for hands-on learning experiences as service activities to positively impact our communities.  With covid-19, some community service opportunities have been limited due to social distancing and other restrictions.  However, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Florida Sea Grant have a new opportunity for 4-H members to get involved virtually.  This opportunity is a citizen science project that would be a great way to build your community service hours and learn something new about fish in the process!

Are any of you into history, helping with research, and like fish? If you answered “yes” to any of these, please consider working with the FISHstory Project! The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Florida Sea Grant needs help with a citizen science project to help fill gaps in fisheries data using historical dock photos.

Who can participate? Families and youth ages 16+, or younger youth with an adult mentor who is working with them for the sessions. If you are under the age of 16, you will need your parent to register with you. It is a very simple registration process. First, register for FISHstory at https://scistarter.org/fishstory. Then, click on the https://safmc.net/safmc-fishstory/ link to begin helping count and identify fish in the historical photos.

This project will train you as a citizen scientist to identify and count fish using historic fishing photos from the 1940-1970s, prior to when dedicated catch monitoring began. This is a two-part project. The first part is to simply count the number of fish in the photo. The second part is to identify the fish in the photo. Everything is done online using Zooniverse, so there would be no travel or cost to participate in this project.

Data collected with your help will provide a picture of the fishery in the earlier years. This will help scientists understand the fishing industry prior to dedicated monitoring programs.  It will also help improve our understanding of the fishing of several iconic species over the years. This data will be used to help accurately estimate stock productivity from 1940 to 1970 when for-hire fisheries off the Atlantic coast of Florida were gaining popularity. Your help is needed to fill these data gaps to help evaluate assumptions about stock productivity. The historic photos, untapped sources of this important biological data, can help do just that. Analyzing the photos will help provide better information of what people were catching during this time period, seasonality of their catches, and possibly estimate a rough catch per angler, which can provide insights on the health of fish populations during that period.

4-H helps youth to learn the skills needed to lead the positive change in their communities like this one.  This is done through hands-on learning opportunities that explore citizenship, community development, and personal growth.  For more information on community service projects or other 4-H programs that build essential life skills in youth, please contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office, or visit http://florida4h.org.

4-H Needs You! Consider Volunteering Today

4-H Needs You! Consider Volunteering Today

This is a photo of volunteer training. Volunteers are sitting around table cutting out hearts for a relationship building activity.

4-H Volunteer Training about healthy relationships!

Make 2020 the year you learn something new or share your talents with a young person in your community. 4-H, the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization, cultivates confident youth who tackle the issues that matter most in their communities. It allows youth to learn by doing. 4-H relies on screened, dedicated volunteers to promote its mission to help youth gain the knowledge and life skills they need to be productive, responsible citizens.

In the Florida Panhandle, we have 4-H programs in schools, afterschool settings, and on military bases where we provide curricula and training to enhance our youth experiences while being active in 4-H. We also have school enrichment programs offering youth 4-H experiences on a specific subject while in school. We have community clubs and special interest groups that are currently active and we need more caring compassionate adults to help! These opportunities are great for families to do together.

If you only have time for a short-term event and like sewing, grilling, cake decorating, gardening or love bugs and outdoor education, consider volunteering. Contact your local Extension Office to see what spring and summer workshops and day camps are being offered that need caring adults to act in the role of 4-H volunteers. Your time as a volunteer will provide our youth the safe place to pursue whatever interests, causes, and leadership roles are most important to them. It also allows you to learn from the youth about current trends, fashions and technology. It really is a two-way learning opportunity where all involved learn by doing.

A picture of a heart full of descriptive words about volunteering

To volunteer, even for the summer workshops, you will need to be screened and trained, so contact us now. The screening and training process takes a little time. Please considervolunteering in your community. With over 70 different 4-H project areas from money and finances, gardening to computer science and rocketry, there are plenty of areas to work with youth to share your knowledge and skills.  Please consider helping us live up to our motto of “making the best better” with 4-H by volunteering today.  Simply contact your local extension office or check out our website for more information.

Greg James Grows Community Pride by Volunteering

People choose to volunteer for a multitude of reasons.  In the case of Wakulla County 4-H volunteer Greg James,  there seem to be few reasons why he wouldn’t want to volunteer to meet a need in his community – especially if it helps youth.

Why Greg Volunteers

“Volunteering in my community is very important to me. I believe serving your community in some fashion helps create a sense of pride, belonging and ownership. I think it’s important to provide our children a positive environment in which to grow. Volunteering for 4-H allows me to foster that environment.”

Man and girl on the set of a TV show to promote a 4-H event.

Greg James joined a 4-H Club member to promote an upcoming community event.

Thirty Years of Investment 

While Greg (and his wife of close to 30 years, Karen) live in Sopchoppy, there are few areas of the county where Greg’s volunteerism has not had an impact.  While Greg and Karen’s children have grown up and left the county to pursue college and careers, involvement with area youth has remained a constant in his life since moving to the county in 1995.

In his professional life, Greg wears two hats – he serves as the Wakulla County Finance Director and the Deputy Clerk of Court.  Some community members may know him best as the minister of the Sopchoppy Church of Christ.

On almost any given day, Greg can found serving his community – as a volunteer cross country coach, stirring a pot at a Low Country Boil charity event, cleaning up the coastline or lending time to a local civic committee.  For the last two years, Greg has served in a leadership role with the Wakulla County 4-H and Extension Advisory Councils, and he started a 4-H Finance Club last summer to help local teens learn financial management skills.

Hands On Leadership 

Youth showing a chicken to a man.

Greg observes a 4-H Poultry Club member demonstrate chicken handling at a community event.

In service to 4-H, Greg give his financial expertise and his hands – figuratively and literally. To celebrate the success of the 4-H Chicken Champs Club, he made people-sized chicken figures that have become a popular photo opportunity at 4-H events. His most recent undertaking is still in progress – refurbishing old metal bleachers by hand for the 4-H Archery Club range.

Sali Polotov, a Future Leaders Exchange Program student from Tajikistan, is a member of the 4-H Finance Club and shared his thoughts on learning with Greg as club leader.  “He is a great leader and speaker. Every time I go to Finance Club, I explore something new. He explains difficult things so easily. Also, he has a great collection of foreign coins!

Greg wasn’t introduced to 4-H until his own children were growing up and completed swine projects.  “Now that I know all of the great programs 4-H offers, I wish I had been more involved.”

As a volunteer leader, Greg also works to recruit more volunteers to help grow 4-H programs. His advice to anyone who thinks they might want to volunteer is simple – “Don’t wait!”

Make a Difference with 4-H – Volunteer

Greg said, “I would ask that (people) stop thinking about it and just do it!  Our 4-H program depends heavily on volunteers, and what we are able to accomplish is only limited by the number and caliber of our volunteers. Please volunteer and make a positive impact on your community and our kids!”

For more information on how to become a 4-H volunteer in your community, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office.  To see how 4-H is positively impacting the lives of Panhandle youth, follow us on Facebook.

awards event

Greg James prepares to swear in new 4-H Association leaders for 2019.

Additional Resources:

Bring a Little Zen to Volunteers and Youth with 4-H Spa and Relaxation Clubs

Bring a Little Zen to Volunteers and Youth with 4-H Spa and Relaxation Clubs

Making lotions and bath scrubs, practicing relaxation and doing yoga…doesn’t this sound like a great 4-H club program?  Discover 4-H Spa and Relaxation Clubs are a great way to learn about homemade body products while learning relaxation techniques.  Youth create a day at the spa by making lotions, soaps, scrubs and lip balms while learning methods to relax like tennis ball massages, creating a happy list, doing yoga and creating a zen garden. An added bonus is homemade products are a fraction of the cost of purchasing and make great gifts for friends and family.

Make your own Luxurious Bath Salts

Ladies making homemade beauty products.

Naval Support Activity-Panama City staff learning how to making calm bags.

  • ½ cup baking soda
  • ½ cup powdered milk
  • 1 cup sea salt
  • 1 cup Epsom salt ( scented or plain)
  • Use 3-5 drops fragrance oil designed for soaps or diluted essential oil for plain Epsom salt
  • Mix ingredients
  • Spoon the mixture into storage containers (wide mouth jars, bowls or zip style bags work well)
  • Label your container with ingredients and direction for use – Pinterest has several cute label designs

Caution:  Essential oils are very strong and can be a skin irritant if applied directly to your skin. National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy recommends diluting essential oils with a carrier oil:  use 1 teaspoon of  coconut, almond, olive, sunflower or jojoba oil with 2 – 12 drops of the desired essential oil. Then, mix 3-5 drops of the diluted oil to your bath salt mixture.  Bath salts are generally safe for most when used properly, but you should talk to your doctor before using bath salts if you have medical conditions such as skin diseases, heart disease or diabetes.

How to Use Your Bath Salts:  Fill your tub halfway with warm to hot water, and pour in about 1/2 cup (120 g) of bath salts. For a stronger concentration, you can always add more. If you prefer showers, take a handful and rub over desired area. Bath salts are great to exfoliate by removing dead skin cells leaving the skin smooth and fresh.  Tired achy feet or hands?   No problem!  Add salts to warm water in a dishpan, and immerse your feet or hands and soak away the pain.

Two women preparing homemade beauty products.

NSA-PC staff learning the 4-H Spa & Relaxation Curricula they will use in their 4-H programs.  

For more information on 4-H and other programs like this, contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension Office, or visit Florida 4-H.  

Are you an adult looking for ways to coach, teach and mentor youth?  Contact the 4-H Agent in your county and enroll as a volunteer in 4-H Online.  Volunteering not only strengthens the 4-H club, but also shows young people how to live with integrity, optimism, hope, determination, compassion, responsibility and resiliency – skills that will help them succeed in life.

Resource:

Discover 4-H Spa and Relaxation Clubs curriculum