4-H May News 2023
Greetings Aroostook 4-H’ers and Families!
While our May weather has started out a bit dreary, hopefully we will see that Spring sunshine soon. With the warmer weather and longer days, Spring is a busy time. As you are completing spring chores, planting, or participating in outdoor activities consider how some of the things can be used to complete your 4-H Project record for this year. Did you help a neighbor clean their yard? Planting a new flower or vegetable in your garden? Hatching chickens or raising piglets? Did your club go on a field trip or learn a new skill? All of these activities, and so much more can be used on project records.
Maine 4-H has updated their project records to be more user friendly. The link to the new records can be found in the State News section of the newsletter. The forms are now fillable and can be emailed to club leaders and the county office. You can also print them and drop them off in hard copy if you prefer. Project records can also be submitted directly through Zsuites from the youth profile.
Spring Tractor Supply Paper Clover Campaign – April 26 – May 7
Animal Approval Form Due (required if you are bringing an animal to fair) – June 30
Animal Lease Form Due (riding & showing) – June 30
Farm Animal Health Clinic – exact date TBD, will be held at the end of June
Northern Maine Fair – August 3-6
NM Fair Exhibit Hall Submissions – Due no later than August 2nd at the Fairground, or to Presque Isle or Houlton Extension offices by July 31st.
County News
Ag Explorers
4-H Members connected with the Easton Rec department have been hard at work this Spring testing out a pilot program called “Ag Explorers.” Youth have been working on activities to explore the basics of agriculture and gain a knowledge of the importance it plays in our everyday lives. As activities are completed they earn badges to demonstrate their completion of the exploration path. Ag Exploration paths are Seed! Sprout! Soil!, Ag & ME, Tillable Tech, & Cultivating Culture. As they work on and complete activities they track their observations and progress in the Ag Explorers Adventure Log. This is a great way to get youth familiar with recording data that can be used in Project Records. Upon completion they will receive an Ag Explorer certificate.
Activities include seed starting, weather and crop game, tractor coding, barn design, local and cultural ag and foods, animal life cycles, and agricultural products and byproducts. If anyone is interested in offering this program or participating in the program please contact megan.cook@maine.edu.
Ag in The Classroom – Honeybees
Classrooms across the county have been hosting 4-H for the Ag in the Classroom, Read ME Ag program. This year’s book is “Honeybee, The busy life of Apis Mellifera.” Students enjoy the book with its beautiful illustrations of the life cycle of the honeybee, participate in a brief lesson and activities to learn more about honeybees and their role as pollinators. The program is open to all Maine educators and students, and teachers receive a copy of the book for their classroom or school library.
Fair is a great opportunity to come together with other Arostook 4-H’ers to learn, participate, and compete together. 4-H members and leaders will receive free admission for all fair dates by presenting their 4-H membership card or 4-H leader card. Please enter at the Livestock Gate entrance on State Street. Be on the lookout for your membership card arriving in the mail in July. We encourage all members to attend and participate in various activities throughout the fair and on Saturday, 4-H Day. Fair is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the projects and skills you have worked on over the past year. Please consider submitting something for the exhibition hall, joining us for 4-H clinics and shows, and participating in 4-H Day events. Many activities and events, awards, ribbons and prizes. Reach out to your club leaders or 4-H staff for ideas about how to be involved this year. Be looking for our 2023 Exhibit Hall Guidelines and Livestock Exhibitor Guidelines to be available on our website soon.
See you at the fair!
Club & Member News
Evergreens Visit Maple Moose
On April 3rd Evergreens took a field trip to The Maple Moose in Easton. CJ King gave us a behind the scenes look at “the business” side of maple sugaring with lessons on equipment, tools, tapping tips, and final products. We also enjoyed maple taffy on the snow.
State 4-H News
New Project Records are HERE! Co-designed with Maine 4-H volunteers, youth and staff; these project records have been designed to best serve the needs of Maine youth. Please visit our newly designed project record website https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/volunteers/project-records/. Project records are required for all Maine 4-H Youth. Stay tuned for upcoming trainings. Please contact your county 4-H staff with questions. Did you know you can complete your project record through ZSuite? There are simple instructions for getting started on the ZSuite User Help page. You can work on your project record through the year – and even upload photos directly from your phone!
Maine 4-H Youth Council Annual Conference – May 13 – 14, 2023 Register Now! May 13-14, Maine 4-H Youth Council Annual Conference. An annual conference for youth ages 15-22. This year’s event will be held at the Windsor Fairgrounds. Register Online by May 10 th. To register, see the workshops. schedule, or packing list – visit the web page. Individuals with questions should reach out to Kristy Ouellette at kristy.ouellette@maine.edu.
The “4-H Adulting 101 Series” will introduce basic adult life skills by exploring a different topic each week including personal values; building healthy relationships; buying and caring for a car; youth entrepreneurship; mindfulness and stress management; and a topic chosen by the participants. UMaine Extension 4-H staff and guest speakers will lead the discussions. The club is free; limited to 20 participants. Register by June 10 on the event webpage to receive the Zoom link and introductory email. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact 207.324.2814; erin.mcdonald1@maine.edu. Additional information also is available on the Extension 4-H Virtual Learning webpage.
Registration is now open for the 4-H Tick Project, a community science project where youth collect, identify, and learn about ticks – while also contributing to real research about ticks in Maine! Sign up to receive tick collection materials, access to youth activities, educational resources, and UMaine Extension Tick Lab testing services. This is a great project for 4-H clubs, SPIN clubs, homeschool groups, and more. For more information and to register, visit the 4-H Tick Project webpage.
Help Project ITCH to Better Understand Tick Control The New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEWVEC) is seeking your help in better understanding residential tick control. NEWVEC began as a partnership of university research teams from each of the six New England states joining with state and local health departments and agricultural extension programs to discover, evaluate, and promote practices that reduce the burden of tick- and mosquito-borne disease. NEWVEC’s inaugural undertaking is Project ITCH, our acronym for “Is Tick Control Helping.” Project ITCH will be carried out in two phases starting Spring 2023. In Phase 1 – NEWVEC is asking for your participation to tell us about what you are doing at your home to reduce the incidence of ticks and tick bites. In Phase 2 – NEWVEC will gather the information you share and through a lottery process select residential properties to participate in a research study to test what’s working. It all starts with you taking a few moments to answer a few survey questions. To complete the survey, please visit the web page at www.NEWVEC.org/itch. Participants in this survey will be eligible for consideration for Phase 2 enrollment in the future. To learn more about NEWVEC and Project ITCH, bookmark the web page and/or sign-up to receive updates on NEWVEC projects.
2023 4-H Volunteer Training Opportunities As we get ready for the new 4-H year, we are looking forward to offering a variety of learning experiences (both in person and virtual) for our 4-H volunteers. Sessions are free of charge, but require registration. Some sessions have limited space. Visit the 4-H Volunteer Calendar of Training Opportunities to learn more and register!
Save the Date for 4-H Dairy Judging and State Show!
The Maine 4-H Dairy Judging Contest will take place on May 6th, 2023 at Hardy Farm in Farmington, ME and Silver Valley Farm in New Sharon, ME. The contest is open to all enrolled dairy members and will serve as the official tryouts for the Maine 4-H Dairy Judging Team. The Maine State 4-H Dairy Show will take place on July 22nd and 23rd at the Windsor Fairgrounds in Windsor, ME in conjunction with Maine 4-H Days. The contest is open to all 4-H members who want to participate and will include educational workshops, a fitting contest, a grilled cheese contest, and more! For more information on upcoming 4-H dairy events visit extension.umaine.edu/4h/dairy or contact sadee.mehuren@maine.edu; 207.342.5971
Maine 4-H Days: Save the Date! July 21 – 22, 2023
We’re back for fun times, workshops, overnight camping and more at the Windsor Fairgrounds in Kennebec County! More information to come, so save the dates!
Blueberries, May Harvest of the Month
Check out the Blueberry Resource Page for lessons, activities, books and more.
