December 2020

Cumberland County 4-H News

4-H Calendar
State 4-H News
4-H Club Happenings
Other UMaine Extension Cumberland County News

December 6: Winterfest Awards Ceremony

December 14: 4-H Maker Program, Online, 4:30 – 5:30PM

December 31: Enrollments due for returning 4-H members

You’re Invited to Winterfest – Sunday, December 6, 2020, 1:00 – 3:15PM via Zoom

Winterfest is a fun-filled celebration and an opportunity to recognize 4-H youth who will receive county awards, as well as volunteers. This year the Teen Council has decided to host an online version of the awards ceremony, complete with secret awards envelopes mailed to awardees. We will also have a 4-H Bingo Game (with prizes of course!) and an arts & crafts project for those who signed up. If you did not sign up you can still play bingo with a virtual card! Family members & volunteers are welcome and encouraged to participate in all portions of Winterfest! Check the email that this newsletter came in for your link to Winterfest.

 Awards Ceremony: 1:00 – 1:40PM****4-H Bingo Game: 1:50 – 2:30PM****Art Project: 2:40 – 3:15PM

Eligibility For Enrollment Requirements for 2020-2021

Renewing members and clubs are expected to re-enroll between October 1 and December 31 each year. New members may enroll at any time. However, both new and re-enrolling members must be enrolled by December 31 to participate in events and activities such as, but not limited to, state-wide market animal auctions, Eastern States Exposition competitions, National 4-H Congress, CWF, National 4-H Conference, and to be eligible for 4-H post secondary scholarships. In order to participate in county fairs, re-enrolling members are expected to meet the December 31 deadline and new members should be enrolled by April 1. If your club is taking this year off from 4-H meetings and activities you are still encouraged to register for 4-H and participate in County or State events in order to make sure this year counts in your total years in 4-H.

Forms were either mailed to members or included in leaders’ start-up packets. Start Up packets may also be printed from the following website: https://extension.umaine.edu/cumberland/programs/cumberland-county-4-h/start-up/. All members must fill out three double-sided forms; enrollment form, health form, photo release/participation agreement form in order to be registered for the new 4-H year. All volunteers must fill out two single-sided forms (enrollment and photo release) and one double-sided behavior and non-discrimination form.

If you received re-enrollment paperwork in the mail, please check with your club leader to determine if they want you to send the paperwork directly to them or to our 4-H office in Falmouth. Club leaders, please let Sara know your plans for having youth and volunteers return paperwork and let her know if you will need copies of any forms, or a roster.

Citizenship Washington Focus Scholarship Applications Save the Date

CWF will be virtual in 2021. We do not yet have details of what that will look like but know it will include a high level of interactive activities to learn about citizenship and civic engagement! CWF is open to youth ages 14-18 and scholarships will again be awarded by the Cumberland County 4-H Leaders Association for attendance. Keep an eye out in the January or February newsletter for application details!
If you would like assistance with your Portfolio or would like to participate in a mock interview to prepare for the CWF scholarship application process, please email or call Sara, sara.conant@maine.edu, 207-781-6099. Sara is available for video chat sessions whenever is convenient for youth, including some evenings by appointment. If you are interested in this assistance for your CWF application please make sure to schedule a time soon.

Club Election Ideas

Club elections will look a little different this year. Here’s one way that California 4-Her’s found to hold virtual club elections https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=42542. Google Forms is also a great option or Zoom polls if you know the candidates ahead of time. Let Mitch or Sara know if you need assistance with these options.

Maryland 4-H Virtual Activity Clubs Open to All

Maryland 4-H is offering Virtual Activity Clubs (SPIN – Special Interest Clubs) for youth of all ages in any state. Their Winter activities include Art, Sports Nutrition, Coding, Animals, Dogs, Skillathons, & Science Experiments! Check out all of these cool offerings and register here: https://extension.umd.edu/events/tue-2021-01-19-1900-4-h-winter-virtual-activity-clubs-2021

Livestock Nutrition Webinar Series

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Windham Butcher Shop are pleased to announce a 5-part series of livestock nutrition talks that cover basic nutrition and feeding needs of Small Ruminants, Beef Cattle, Pigs, and Poultry. Join Dr. Colt W. Knight as he discusses the nutritional demands for livestock, differences among feeds, and why a properly balanced ration is crucial to profitability, reproduction, and animal health. The final lecture in this series will discuss what you should expect from processors and what processors expect from you.

A donation is appreciated, but not required. Registration is required – Participants will receive the Zoom information after registering for this event.

State 4-H News December 2020

Only TWO More 4-H Virtual Teen Science Cafes in 2020!
There are two more 4-H Virtual Teen Science Cafes happening in 2020! On December 3, Shawn Laatsch will join us to talk about the Mars Rover Perseverance, and on December 9th Dr Pauline Kamath will teach about how to be a Genetic Detective tracing the source of an outbreak. The program will be running again in Spring of 2021, if you have ideas of new topics, please email Alice Philbrick. Register today at: https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/learn-at-home/teen-virtual-science-cafes/.

Every Wednesday, you have the opportunity to participate in The University of Vermont’s VTeen Science Exploration – these are a similar format and run from 3:30 – 4:45 pm.  On their announcements page, scroll down to VTeen Science Exploration for details about the different offerings, and registration links: https://www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/announcements

To view spring session webinars, visit: https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/learn-at-home/recordings-teen-virtual-science-cafes-march-31-june-9-2020/.

4-H Tuesday Trivia
Come join the fun and test your knowledge in a variety of topic areas, including your knowledge of 4-H and our land-grant university, the University of Maine!

When?Every Tuesday in December! Register to play and each Tuesday at 12:00 noon you will get an email with your link to the week’s trivia game. The quiz will close at 11:59 pm that night. Each game will have questions about 4-H, the University of Maine, and one of these themes : Disney, Animals, Winter, Star Wars, and the State of Maine.

Who Can Play? Any 4-H member, family, or volunteer can play. We will have four age categories: Cloverbuds (age 5-8), Juniors, (9-12), Seniors (13-18), and Adults (4-H volunteers, parents, and 4-H staff) In addition, you can invite your non-4-H friends to join the fun and play along too!

Does it cost anything? Nope, it’s free! AND, you can win prizes!

Did you say prizes? Yes! Prizes include t-shirts, 4-H swag, gift cards, and a 4-H Camp and Learning Center scholarship! Each week we will draw random winners. Top scores at the end of December in each age group will receive prizes. You can even receive an award for recruiting the most non-4-H friends to play! Each week youth play, their name will go into a drawing that will take place at the end of the month for a partial 4-H Camp and Learning Center scholarship up to a $150 value.

How do I sign up? Head to: https://extension.umaine.edu/4h/4-h-tuesday-trivia/ and click on the form. Then, each Tuesday in December, watch your email for your link to your trivia game. Submit your answers. Speed and accuracy count. Check back on the webpage to follow the leader board and see who the weekly prize winners are.

Maine 4-H Foundation Scholarships
Graduating seniors can apply for a 4-H scholarship from the Maine 4-H Foundation. Applications are due on March 1, 2021 to the local county office and on March 8, 2021 to the Maine 4-H Foundation. For more information please go to: https://extension.umaine.edu/4hfoundation/funding/.

Virtual National Youth Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summit Applications for 2021 are Available Now!
The National Youth Summits on Agri-Science and Healthy Living will be held virtually this year allowing us to add more youth to our teams. Attendees will learn more about their area of interest by attending interactive workshops, and pitching their own action plan ideas. The Summits were created to empower youth to be well-informed citizens, expand engineering and agriculture experience, and increase connections to living a healthy lifestyle, all while being actively engaged in their communities.

Healthy Living: February 12 – 15, 2021
Agri-Science: March 4 – 7, 2021
Eligibility: Youth ages 14-18, enrolled in 4-H by December 31, 2020 – this year youth may enroll in Maine 4-H solely in order to attend the Summits and participate on the team.
Cost: $25
Application: https://forms.gle/4wuEj2mzr4ZZWoXN9 – This is a combined application for both the Agri-Science and Healthy Living Summits. Please note that references are not required this year.

For more information about the National Youth Summits please visit: https://4hcenter.org/tours-programs/national-youth-summits/ or check out the application for more details. Email or call Sara, sara.conant@maine.edu, 207-781-6099, with any questions. Applications are due by December 11, 2020.

4-H Bird Chats: Do you like to watch your bird feeder? Observe the antics of various chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and more? You’re not alone! Join 4-H staff and birding enthusiasts for a statewide youth birding club. This is an exciting opportunity for youth ages 9 – 18! The birding club will meet virtually once a month, starting in December through April. Participants will observe birds, learn how to contribute their observations and data to Project FeederWatch, share and discuss their observations with their peers, and more. Please visit to register: https://extension.umaine.edu/hancock/4h/4h-bird-chats/

Club Happenings

Merry Makers
Hanna L.

The November meeting of the 4-H Merrymakers club was called to order by Sarah Sparks at 3:30PM on November 8, 2020, over a Zoom. 8 members, 1 leader, and 0 visitors present. During our meeting, we had a pet show and tell, and we elected our 4-H officers.  For the pet show, we got all of our pets and we showed them over google Zoom. For the officers, we elected a president, vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The 4-H Merrymakers club is still finding ways to connect even though covid-19 prevents us from meeting in person we still connect over zoom.

Your 4-H Club Happenings could be featured here! Just email sara.conant@maine.edu by the 25th of each month with information about your club meetings, events, or fundraisers. Pictures are always a plus!

Other UMaine Extension Cumberland County News

UMaine Extension Cumberland County offers many different workshops throughout the year. To learn more about our workshop offerings please visit https://extension.umaine.edu/cumberland/upcoming-events/