The week of October 4 – 11 has been proclaimed National 4-H Week in Pendleton County and across the nation. Pendleton County’s West Virginia University Extension Service has put strong effort into engaging young people in the area’s elementary schools to encourage more kids to get involved.
Brooke Alt, one of Pendleton County’s agents, went to the schools to share information about the program and get kids involved. She took “promotional items to the school,” said Alt, who then shared “every elementary school student should have received a coloring contest form promoting 4-H.”
The 4-H “year” runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 of the following calendar year. Ages 5 to 7 may start off in a Cloverbud club. Junior 4-H members are between 9 and 11 years of age, intermediate 12 to 14, and senior members extend from 15 to 21 years of age. Many move over to Future Farmers of America in those age groups, though.
“Four-H is for everyone,” Alt emphasized. She explained that although “traditionally 4-H had agriculture-based projects” and 4-H kids came with an interest in agriculture, that has changed. She said, “Now, we have something for everyone, something for every interest,” including information technology, cooking, sewing, and a number of other areas.
The program includes both traditional schoolchildren and also homeschooled students. “We have several homeschooled kids in our programming,” said Alt, who went on to add that “sometimes the homeschooled kids have more time to devote to projects.”
To answer the question of what to do a project on, WVU Extension Service responds “what interests you?” Under that heading on the WVU Extension Service page comes an explanation of the role of projects.
“A 4-H project is a combination of hands-on activities, record keeping, leadership, and communication opportunities,” stated the service webpage. Members select projects upon enrollment and a project helper mentors the member through the process.
Most local projects end up on display at a fair or festival. There are more than 60 possible fields under nine categories suggested.
“If you’ve ever even thought about joining 4-H,” says Alt, “call into our office.” She noted that some potential participants may not have a life schedule that matches that of one of the clubs. Alt states that there are five clubs across the county, each with a different schedule.
Because of the stepped-up engagement, Alt says, “4-H is hoping to see an increase of numbers this year.”
Jessica Hoover, Pendleton County’s other extension agent, shared that Pendleton County’s state horticulture contest winners would go on to national competition in Kalamazoo, Mich., early next month.
“We have three juniors, Ross Pownell, Hannah Heavner, and Marion Williams,” said Hoover. She explained that although those not yet in 12th grade usually do not go and compete, circumstances this year changed. The national association that sponsors the event is dissolving and until another organization picks up the mission, no more contests of the sort will take place. “It’s up in the air what will happen in the future,” said Hoover.
Hoover shared that since the three have worked hard during the years to develop their skills, it made sense to send them even though they are not high school seniors. “Two of them have watched older siblings go,” she added.
The three earned the right to compete after winning the state level contest in June.
