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Exciting Updates for the 4-H Horticultural ID Contest

4-H Judging Contests, like horticulture identification, teach essential life skills for work and personal success.

Horticulture is one of our state’s leading industries, and for decades, the 4-H Horticulture ID contest has helped youth learn about this industry and demonstrate mastery of horticultural identification skills.  Even if a youth does not pursue a career in the horticultural industry, learning the material for this contest can benefit them in other ways.  To learn more about how judging teams teach workforce skills, check out this previous blogpost.  

This year, the State 4-H Horticulture Judging Contest received an extreme makeover, to expand the program to even more youth.  The state contest was held this past Saturday, June 10th at the Hillsborough County Extension Office in Tampa, FL (previously, the contest was held in Gainesville during 4-H University and was only open to 4-H seniors).  For the first time ever, the contest is now open to youth between the ages of 8 and 18 (juniors, intermediates, and seniors).  Study materials were adapted and revised to be age appropriate, and a webinar for coaches was offered.  The webinar was archived and can still be viewed by anyone interest in coaching a team.

There are five parts to the contest:

  • Woody Ornamentals identification
  • Flowers and Foliage identification
  • Fruits and Nut identification
  • Vegetable identification
  • Judging classes (youth look at a group of four fruits, plants, vegetables or nuts and rank them from best quality to poorest quality).

The contest is organized by a group of University of Florida Extension Specialists and volunteers.  In addition to the resources online, youth can contact their local Master Gardener Program through their local UF IFAS County Extension Office for support.  Many master gardener volunteers are willing to help teach plant identification, and may be willing to serve as a coach for your club.  In fact, Master Gardeners can earn bonus points towards their state contest for helping 4-H clubs and teams prepare!

If this program interests you, sign up for 4-H!  4-H is open to youth ages 5-18.  Adults can join 4-H as volunteers.  Florida 4-H offers a variety of volunteer roles to fit your specific interests, skills and schedule.  For more info, visit http://florida4h.org or contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office.

Helpful Links:

 

Bust Boredom and Extend Learning through Summer

4-H summer programs allow youth to explore a variety of topics- from animal science to robotics! Photo credit: Heather Kent, UF IFAS Extension

With the end of the school year approaching, many parents are puzzling over what to do with their children during the 8-10 weeks of summer vacation.  Fortunately, 4-H has the solution to bust summertime boredom and extend learning while exploring a variety of topics- such as sewing, gardening, culinary arts or even robotics and engineering.  4-H camps are different from most other camping programs because they are framed around the essential elements of positive youth development and are intentionally structured to promote the development of life and workforce skills such as communication, decision-making and appreciation of differences.  4-H camps are staffed by caring teen and adult volunteers who have been screened, oriented and trained according to federal and state law, and incorporate best practices for risk management to insure a physically and emotionally safe environment.  The connection of 4-H to land grant universities like the University of Florida also means that camp curriculum is based on the best knowledge available about any given project utilizing inquiry and learn-by-doing methods.

Below you can find a list of day camps that will be offered throughout the Florida panhandle. Counties also offer week long overnight camps at Camp Timpoochee or Camp Cherry Lake.  In addition to camp, 4-H offers overnight leadership experiences for middle school and high school youth, such as Intermediate State (June 2-4th), 4-H Legislature (June 26-30th), and 4-H University (July 31-August 3rd).  Click on the county links below for more information or contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbdw3GW2-I8.

Bay

  • Tailgating Grilling Workshop, June 5-9, 1pm – 5pm
  • Bots by the Bay, July 5-7, AF youth (active duty, guard, reserve or retired) age 13-15, 8am-6pm
  • Bots by the Bay, July 10-14, AF youth (active duty, guard, reserve or retired) age 16-18, 8am-6pm

Escambia

  • Beginner Sewing Day Camp, June 13-15, 9AM -3PM
  • Breakfast Day Camp, June 21-22; 9AM-3PM
  • Tailgate Day Camp- July 5-9, 9AM-3PM
  • Intermediate Sewing Day Camp- July 18 and 20, 9AM-3PM
  • CSI Day Camp- July 17 and 19th, 9AM-3PM

Gadsden

  • Sew Fun, Sew Easy, June 26-30th, 8AM-5PM
  • Marvels of Engineering, July 25-28th, 8AM-5PM
  • Farm to Table: the Youth Experience, July 6th– 8AM-5PM
  • Youth Poultry Clinic- July 8th, 8AM-5PM

Holmes

  • Poultry Perfection- June 2nd, 9:30AM-2PM
  • Cloverbud Crazy Art Day Camp- June 8th– 8AM-2PM
  • Tailgating Grilling Workshop- June 27-29th, 8AM-3PM
  • Animal Science Field Day- July 11th, 8AM-4PM
  • Junk Drawer Robotics Day Camp- July 25-27, 9AM-3PM

Jackson

  • Poultry Perfection- June 2nd, 9:30AM-2PM
  • Tailgating Day Camp- June 5-7th, 8AM-12PM
  • Equine Clinic- June 13th, 9AM-3PM
  • Livestock Nutrition Workshop- June 29th, 9AM-2PM
  • Poultry Day Camp- July 7th– 9AM-3PM
  • Goat Workshop- July 13st- 9AM-3PM
  • Livestock Skillathon Camp- July 17th-19th, 8:30AM-11:30AM
  • Robotics Camp- July 25th-27th– 9AM-3PM

Jefferson

  • Wildlife Day Camp- July 10-15th
  • Cloverbud Camp- July 18-21st
  • 8-9 year old camp- June 5-9th
  • Cooking 101- August 2-4th
  • Reading Makes Cents- June 14-16th

Leon

  • Farm your Backyard Camp- June 27th-30th, 9AM-4PM
  • Sewing for All Skill Levels (FULL- call to be placed on the waiting list)
  • Junk Drawer Robotics Day Camp- July 25-27th, 9AM-4PM
  • Wildlife Explorers Camp- July 10-14th (FULL- call to be places on the waiting list)
  • Tailgate Grilling Camp- June 27-29th– (FULL- call to be places on the waiting list)
  • #Adulting- June 15, June 22, July 6, July 13th– 9AM-4PM
  • Poultry Day Camp- July 7tth 9AM-5PM (FULL- call to be places on the waiting list)
  • Gardening for Cloverbuds (5-7 year olds)- July 14th, 8:30AM-12PM

Liberty

  • Tailgate Grilling Workshop, June 27, 28 & 29
  • Entomology Day Camp- July 11-12th
  • Robotics Day Camp- July 25-27th
  • 21st Century 4-H Day Camps- a variety of topics taught over the summer for youth enrolled in the 21st Century Learning programs at Tolar and Hosford schools

Wakulla

  • Cooking Camp- June 12-14th, 9AM-3PM
  • Gourmet Cooking Camp with Mr. John- June 15th-16th, 9AM-3PM
  • 101 Sewing Camp- July 10-12, 8AM-5PM
  • All About Animals- July 24-26th, 8AM-2PM
  • Insect Camp- July 19-21, 9AM-3PM

Walton

  • Tailgator Day Camp- July 10-12th, 8:30AM-4PM
  • Sew Fantastic Day Camp- July 6th
  • Cloverbud Chefs Extreme Cuisine- June 7-8
  • 4-H Extreme Cuisine- June 27th– 29th; 8:30AM-4PM
  • Ag-Ventures, July 18-19th, 8:30AM-4PM
  • Build a Bot Day Camp- July 25-27th, 9AM-4PM

Washington

  • Poultry Perfection Workshop- June 2; 9:30 am-2 pm
  • Tailgate Grilling Workshop, June 27, 28 & 29, 8 am-Noon
  • Beef Research Center Workshop- July 11; 8 am-2pm

Florida 4-H Celebrates Global Youth Service Day

Teens from across the panhandle joined forces to take a stand against cancer by celebrating Global Youth Service Day.

This weekend, hundreds of Florida 4-H youth are taking a stand against cancer by distributing chemo kits to cancer patients.  Our 4-Hers are joining millions of others around the globe who are celebrating Global Youth Service Day during the weekend of April 21-23.

This youth-led initiative was spear-headed by Danielle Tinker, a 4-Her from Escambia County.  She and a committee of youth from across the Florida panhandle collected nearly 1,000 items for chemo kits, organized them, and packaged them with a handwritten note of encouragement.  One of the “H’s” in 4-H stands for “hands to larger service” and is a cornerstone of the 4-H positive youth development experience.  Because of programs like this, 4-Hers are 4X more likely to give back to their communities.

Regional Specialized 4-H Agent Heather Kent shares, “It has been a honor to support these youth in this project- they continue to amaze me!  I don’t know of a family that has not been touched by cancer and I can’t think of a more relevant cause to support.  This project has help our group grow compassion, and has helped the cancer patients grow courage!”

Youth collected nearly 1,000 items for the kits and organized them by age group and gender.

Each kit had a handwritten note of encouragement included.

Youth sewed fabric drawstring bags to contain the kit items.

This project would not have been possible without the support of Youth Service America, State Farm and Farm Credit of Northwest Florida.  Farm Credit of Northwest Florida not only supported this project monetarily, but their employees also collected and donated items for the chemo kits.  This weekend marks the culmination of this project during Global Youth Service Day.  Global Youth Service Day recognizes the positive impact that young people have on their communities 365 days a year. GYSD is celebrated in more than 135 countries with youth-led service projects and community events and is the largest service event in the world.

“We know that young people are uniquely suited to help solve problems – if given the opportunity,” said Steven A. Culbertson, CEO and president of YSA (Youth Service America), the leader of GYSD. “Today’s social and environmental problems are immense; we need youth in Florida to be leaders and problem solvers today, not just the leaders of a distant tomorrow.”

4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization. Over 230,000 members in the State of Florida help to make up the community of more than 6.5 million young people across America. 4-H is a non-formal, practical educational program for youth and is the youth development program of Florida Extension, a part of the University of Florida IFAS.  To find out more information, or how to get involved, visit http://florida4h.org or contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office.

Learn more and browse GYSD activities around the world on the GYSD Map at www.GYSD.org.

Connect on Facebook at www.facebook.com/youthserviceamerica and on Twitter @YouthService and #GYSD.

 

Announcing the New 4-H Insectathon Event

Photo credit: UF

There are two kinds of people in the world- those that think bugs are really cool and those that run screaming from anything that slightly resembles an insect.  If you or a family member are the former, then prepare to be excited!  We are happy to announce that there will be a new competitive event coming to Florida 4-H.  It is being developed by a team of specialists, volunteers and youth who are passionate about the exciting world of entomology.  The Florida 4-H Insectathon will be held January 20th, 2018 in Gainesville, FL and will include the following events:

  • Insect Collection Contest
  • Honey Bee Essay Contest
  • Insect Art Contest
  • Entomology Identification and Skill-a-thon Contest
  • Educational tours for both contest participants and their family members

This event will help youth master skills such as how to use a dichotomous key, how to make observations, record keeping skills, pinning skills, and communication skills- it may even aspire some youth to pursue a career related to entomology!  To help volunteers, parents and youth get started, the experts will be teaching a workshop here in the Panhandle on Saturday, May 6th, from 10AM-2PM.  Registration is open March 1st through April 28th via 4HOnline.  Participants will receive hands-on experience collecting, identifying and pinning insects, as well as a startup kit of resources to share with other youth in your county.  Counties are encouraged to send a team of youth and adults to this workshop.  Lunch will be provided, so there is a small fee of $15.00/person.

If you have a passion for nature and would like to inspire the next generation, consider sharing your expertise as a 4-H entomology project or resource leader.  For more information, contact your local UF IFAS Extension Office, or visit http://florida4h.org.

Other Resources of Interest: