October 2024 4-H Newsletter
4-H Happenings
A monthly newsletter for Hancock County 4-H Members
Table of Contents
Upcoming Dates| County News | Club News | State News | Leaders Meeting Minutes
Upcoming Dates to Remember
October 1 – Re-enrollment Begins on ZSuite
October 6 to 12 – National 4-H Week
October 7 – Project Records Due
October 8 – 4:00 Photography workshop at the Extension Office
October 8 – 6:30 Leaders’ Meeting at Extension Office (Hybrid)
October 14 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Office Closed)
October 15 – Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival at UMaine
October 18 – 2:00 Web Craft Workshop at the Ellsworth Public Library
October 26 – 10:00 am Cloverfest celebration
October 30 – Photo Contest Due
November 1 – National Trip Application Deadline
November 20 – County Re-enrollment Deadline
County News
Cloverfest
Join us in celebrating Hancock County at this year’s Cloverfest Recognition Celebration! Our team has put together a *fin-tastic* morning of aquatic-themed workshops for youth, as we honor our outstanding 4-H members and dedicated volunteers. Dive into the excitement with hands-on 4-H workshop stations, including our ever-popular 4-H touch tank, where you can explore marine life up close, or take a virtual plunge using our VR goggles! Be sure to visit the appreciation station to share your gratitude with our incredible volunteers. With a variety of engaging activities for the whole family, this event is *shore* to make waves! Want to know what else is in store? You’ll have to sign up to find out!
Cloverfest will be held on Saturday, October 26, at 10 a.m. at Surry Elementary School. Please RSVP to help us get an accurate head count by filling out our RSVP form. We can’t wait to see you there!”
Parents and family members, if you’d like to volunteer your time and help us run some workshops for your wonderful youth, please contact Leah! The Leaders’ Association will provide an ice cream sundae bar, but families can also bring a snack! See you there!
Movie Night!
What an evening! Thank you to everyone who gathered to watch Encanto with us! Between the buttery popcorn and yummy hot cocoa, it was like being at the movies. Not to mention, at this theater, you got to wear PJs and bring a blanket! After the movie, we enjoyed delicious s’mores by the campfire, making for a perfect evening of fun and laughter. Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make the night a magical one!
We hope bonding events like these happen for many years to come. Let us know what other movies you’d like to watch together!
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- “Making memories”
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- “Posing with the cast!”
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- “Nothing quite like a Movie Night s’more”
4-H Workshops
This month, join us for a funky photography workshop at the Extension office, and a wacky web art activity to celebrate Halloween at the Ellsworth Public Library. The photography workshop will be from 4:00 – 5:00 pm on Tuesday, October 8, and the web art workshop will be from 2:00 – 3:00 pm on Friday, October 18.
Last month, Leah led a DIY ice cream workshop at the Ellsworth Public Library, and it was a hit! Keep an eye out for future ice cream related 4-H workshops because it was too fun not to repeat!
Project Records
Tell us all about your 4-H year through a project record! We want to know what skills you worked on, what goals you set, and your thoughts about 4-H. Project records will be due to the office on October 7, 2024, so if you haven’t already, get started by visiting our project records webpage. As always, contact the office with any questions you may have!
Re-enrollment
Another 4-H year has begun! Andrea will send out re-enrollment instructions soon, so keep an eye out for them in your inbox! All volunteers and members must complete re-enrollment by November 20. If you are experiencing issues using the online portal, ZSuite, please contact Andrea at andrea.mahoney@maine.edu or 207-667-8212 so we can help you through the process.
Explore Maine’s Aquaculture Industry with Virtual Field Trips
We are so excited to share the work our aquaculture team has been working on! Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) are an innovative way for youth to explore and learn about places and people that would otherwise be infeasible! These immersive, online experiences bring Maine’s thriving aquaculture industry to life—no travel required.
Accessible at no cost, the Virtual Field Trips are designed to break down geographical and financial barriers, making high-quality, hands-on learning available to all. Register online to receive a link to the VFTs. Each field trip also comes with complementary 4-H activity guides and lesson plans to help facilitate meaningful engagement with youth.
The first VFT currently available features the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR), a large-scale, land-based aquaculture facility in Franklin, Maine. Additional virtual field trips are in development and will be rolled out throughout 2025 and 2026. These experiences offer insight into seafood production, workforce development, career exploration, and STEM concepts related to aquaculture technologies.
To register for a virtual field trip, visit extension.umaine.edu/hancock/aquaculture/vft. For more information, contact Hancock County’s very own 4-H professional, Carla, at carla.scocchi@maine.edu.
Photo Contest
Don’t forget about our annual 4-H Photo Contest! The due date for photo submission is October 30, but the portal to submit your photos opened on September 1! Check out our webpage to learn more about guidelines and how to submit. We can’t wait to see what amazing images you capture!
Join us For a Leaders’ Meeting
The 4-H Leaders’ Association would like to invite you to join them for their monthly Leaders’ Meetings. Our 4-H Leaders are a group of volunteers who work behind the scenes with staff to organize fun county events and support 4-H. If you’d like to get more involved, please join us in person or via Zoom on October 8 at 6:30 pm. We will meet at the Extension Office located at 63 Boggy Brook Road in Ellsworth. The link to our Zoom portal is included in the newsletter email, but you can also contact leah.mccluskey@maine.edu for access.
Club News
The Service Squad: At our last meeting, the Service Squad debriefed the latest movie night event. It went great, and we would like to organize another event like this. Our favorite part was bonding with friends over s’mores and fruit snacks! We then began planning our next 4-H social event and decided a game night would be fun. Everyone, get your cards ready! At our meeting, we reached out to the local SPCA to see how we could help support their cause through fundraising. We will revisit this topic when we hear back from them.
Lock Stock and Barrel: Lock Stock and Barrel 4-H Club starts its basic rifle course on Wednesday, September 25 at 6:00 pm at the Blue Hill Rifle and Pistol Club, Range Rd, Blue Hill. Youth must be nine years of age to participate. Please get in touch with Norwood and Becky Ames at 207-567-3066 for more information.
State News
4-H Club Leader Handbook: It has been months of work and patience, but we now have a 4-H Club Leader Handbook! UMaine Printing Services did a fantastic job, and thank you to the team that put this resource together: Jen Lobley, Erin McDonald, Karen Giles and Sheila Norman. This handbook is dedicated to Norma Hardison, for always keeping 4-H volunteers a priority and reminding us to think about things from their perspective. Here is the link to the PDF.
APPLY NOW for 2025 4-H National Trips: Exciting news! Applications are now open for the 2025 4-H National Trips, featuring 4-H Conference and 4-H Congress. These events offer incredible opportunities for leadership development and national networking. Any Maine 4-H Youth, aged 14 to 18 is eligible to apply. Applicants must be current Maine 4-H members at the time of application and the time of the actual trip.
- 4-H Conference: April 11 – 16, 2025 in Washington DC
- 4-H Congress: November 28 – December 2, 2025, Atlanta, GA
Apply online by November 1, 2024, through the 4-H National Trips Application. Don’t miss your chance to be part of these transformative experiences! Interviews will occur in early December 2024. Reach out to Kristy Ouellette with any questions.
Fall Family Day at Tanglewood: Fall Family Day at the UMaine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Tanglewood, 184 Tanglewood Rd, Lincolnville, ME, from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm on October 12, 2024. Join us during the best season at Tanglewood, the Fall, as we celebrate autumnal changes. This is a free family event open to all ages and abilities.
Activities include cider pressing and tasting, face painting, pumpkin painting, garlic planting, nature bracelets, a campfire and s’mores, and time to explore the beauty of the woods at Tanglewood. This is a great opportunity to learn more about our programs and 4-H. For more information, contact Emma at extension.tanglewood4h@maine.edu or 207.789.5868.
4-H Climate Civic Action SPIN Club: This is a 3-part series for youth ages 12-18 that will dive into real-world issues and what we can actually do about them. Join Christopher and Sarah as we take a look at the impacts of climate change. Christopher is a second-year graduate student at the School of Policy and International Affairs (Global Policy) with a focus in Climate change and Environmental policy).
Together we will learn about climate change from a global and a local perspective and explore opportunities for individual action to make a difference. This will involve hands-on, minds-on learning to unpack this big topic. This series will be held via Zoom on Mondays, October 28, November 4, and November 11, from 4:30 – 5:30 pm. Registration closes on October 17. For more information and to register, visit the Maine 4-H Virtual Learning Open Registrations.
Start Your 4-H Volunteer Journey Training: Thinking about becoming a 4-H volunteer? We are looking for people to help youth find their spark and thrive! We offer lots of ways to be involved depending on your time and interests. Join us for two one-hour virtual sessions to help you with your decision. By the end of the two-part series, you will have completed four short e-learning modules to introduce you to the 4-H program, participate in an experiential learning activity, learn about the key aspects of positive youth development, and be introduced to the ages and stages of youth. This core training will wrap up with an outline of the next steps and an introduction to your county staff contact so you can begin the application process if you choose. There is no pressure to commit, no cost, and no reason not to attend! Please note that these sessions are for individuals who are not currently enrolled 4-H volunteers. For more information or to register, visit the information page.
Upcoming Sessions:
- Tuesdays, November 12 & 19, 2024, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.
4th Annual Maine STEM Film Challenge: Join us for our 4th annual Maine STEM Film Challenge! Hosted by the STEM Outreach program at the University of Southern Maine, the Maine STEM Film Challenge is a fantastic fall semester opportunity open to students of any level. This challenge is self-paced and very easy to get started with.
Divisions Include:
- K-3 grades
- 4-5 grades
- 6-8 grades
- 9-12 grades
- Any college grade
Teams of 1 to 10 students storyboard, design, edit, and produce a 3 to 10 minute informational, multimedia video about any STEM topic of their choice. Films are evaluated on content, production quality, artistic merit, and accessibility. Groups of any kind are welcome to participate, including schools, community groups, and families.
Full challenge description, rules, rubrics, and past winning videos are available on the Maine STEM Film Challenge website: MSFC Website. If you’d like to be kept in the loop during the challenge season, click on the “Pre-Registration” link to get started! For more information, email msfc@maine.edu.
Northern Maine Children’s Water Festival at UMaine: Join Scarlett, Melissa, and the 4-H Science and Engineering Learning Center as they explore organisms found in the ocean. Kids get a chance to touch, hold, investigate, and explore species found in the Gulf of Maine. This free, hands-on, learning festival is geared towards 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. The event will be filled with a variety of water resource professionals who promote the value of clean water and healthy habitats, as well as provide teachers with materials and lessons they can use in their own classrooms.
Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Location: University of Maine, Orono
For more information, visit the Children’s Water Festival website.
Leaders’ Meeting Minutes
September 10, 2024 4-H Leaders’ Meeting
Attendees: Lisa Carney, Lisa Reilich, Terry Swazey, Elaine Gokey, Joanie Jodrey, Norma Hardison, Lee Sargent, Andrea Mahoney, Leah McCluskey
Club Reports
- No clubs have met recently.
Secretaries and Treasurer’s Reports for August
- Treasurer’s report accepted as read by Terry.
- Secretaries report accepted as printed in the newsletter.
Old Business
- Blue Hill Fair
- Activity Tent- Carla and Leah have ideas for next year. Watermelon eating, corn shucking contests.
- Steer- won by Brian Stuart from Mariaville, who opted to take the cash prize of $650. It would be nice to have someone in charge of this project.
- Horse/Goat Shows- went very well! Not many Hancock County horses.
- Photo Contest- Due at the end of October. Washington County had theirs this month and they had some inspiring pictures. Need more judges, if you know anyone contact Leah. HCTC might have a videographer.
- Food Booth Staffing- Ask HS if any youth might need volunteer hours.
New Business
- Cloverfest – October 26, Surry School from 10-12:30. Touchtank will be there. Tied blanket? Two tubs of ice cream should be enough, Brenda will purchase. Terry will get toppings, bowls and spoons.
- Leaders Banquet- Might be able to hold at the Home Co-op. Carla would especially like to thank the volunteers who staff the food booth. Many would like a potluck. Maybe rebrand as something other than Leaders Banquet; Volunteers Banquet? Maybe the Orland Community Building?
- 2024-2025 Theme- National theme is “Beyond Ready”, we should brainstorm our own.
- 4-H Awareness Days on October 6-12?
- Paper Clovers at TS is now in November starting on Black Friday.
- Eastern States Animal Science Goat project ℅ Scott Leeman- numerous kids and families helped out at the food booth this year. Terry made a motion to give $250 to benefit all of the goat youth, seconded and passed.
Election of Officers
- President- Brenda
- Vice-President- Elaine
- Secretary- Lisa C
- Treasurer- Terry
- Board of Directors- Lee, Joanie, Lisa R
Office Report
- Movie night in September, “Encanto” and Smores.
- Next meeting will be in person to address invites, bring finger food.
Motion to adjourn at 7:49 pm
Respectfully submitted by Lisa Carney, Secretary