4-H Happenings, June 2024

June 3, 2024 4-H Happenings Newsletter, Newsletters

Contents

Important Dates: 

County News

New RockHounding Club Opportunity Starting in 2024

The Rockhounding group will be starting in the first part of July as part of the Summer Learning Series, for which registration is opening June 3 for enrolled 4-H members, and June 10 for non-4-H participants. We will also offer an in person enrichment session at Maine 4-H Days as part of the group’s activities. Space is limited. For more information about the Summer Learning Series sessions, visit the webpage.

Stop Motion Animation Coming Soon

Are you interested in learning about animation? Stop motion is a special type of animation that uses real objects and photography- instead of drawings or computer-generated images- to tell a story. This spring/early summer we will be offering a virtual, after-school program for 6 weeks that will dive into this fun activity. Please reach out to karen.giles@maine.edu for more information.

Club News

Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club

Solon Pine Tree 4-H Club held their monthly meeting on May 11. Four members, two  leaders, and two visitors attended. During the business portion of the meeting they discussed passing out flowers to mothers at Church for Mothers’ Day. They went over projects for the upcoming fair season, and also discussed where they wanted to go for a club tour this season. 

For the educational program they planted flowers for Mothers’ Day, and finished art projects from the last few meetings. Charlotte H. did a demonstration for the club on “How to make a shirt with Cricut joy.”

Refreshments were served for recreation.

Canaan 4-H Club

The Canaan 4-H Club held their first meeting on May 11. Several local families attended. The club is for youth from 5-12 years old, and will be focusing on arts and crafts and starting some animal projects. They decided on their monthly meeting dates and started filling out membership forms for the youth to officially join 4-H! 

If you would like to attend and possibly join the club, please reach out to Club Leader Dixie Ring at  canplib@canaan.lib.me.us or call her at (207) 474-2149.

Are You Interested in New Clubs?

We have some new clubs starting soon and will be looking for volunteers and members to join! Please reach out to Karen Giles karen.giles@maine.edu for more information.

  • Embden, Goat Club
  • Fairfield, Horse & Mixed Club
  • Anson, Cloverbud Afterschool SPIN club
  • Palmyra, Mixed

Please share your club news- we’d love to hear from you! Let us know what is happening with your club members. Reach out to karen.giles@maine.edu to share activities, highlights, awards, or events.

State News

Events and Opportunities

4H Clover

Maine 4-H Days: Register Now!

Where: Windsor Fairgrounds, Windsor, Maine

When: Friday evening, July 19 – Saturday, July 20. Animal Science tracks for Horse and Dairy are scheduled from Friday, July 19 – Sunday, July 21.

Registration is now open for 2024 Maine 4-H Days! There will be livestock events through the weekend, and dozens of enrichment workshops to choose from during the day on Saturday. Friday night will be a blast with a Youth Council Dance for youth ages 12 & up, and then a Move and Groove Family Movie Night for the rest! Camping space is available at no additional charge. There will be a food truck on site to provide meals to purchase, and a pop-up 4-H merchandise shop.

Visit the website to learn more about the different activities, and to register now!

4-H Summer Learning Series

2024 marks the FIFTH year Maine 4-H is offering a Summer Learning Series!  This year, workshops will run from July 5 – August 10, and there is something for everyone. Registration opens June 3 for enrolled 4-Hers, and opens June 10 for all other youth. There is a lot of diversity in the offerings for this year – you can learn about rocks or how to start your own fish tank! Would you like to explore the world of animals, or get cozy with festive winter holiday crafts? From Cloverbuds to Teens, there are experiences available for all ages. Dive into the different workshop options. To register or learn more, head to our website.

Summer at 4-H Camps at Tanglewood and Blueberry Cove

The UMaine 4-H Camps at Blueberry Cove and Tanglewood have summer camp openings and scholarships to support Maine youth to attend. We are excited to connect 4-Hers to our programs.

Overnight camps and Discovery Trips, ages 8-15: Week-long programs at Tanglewood and Blueberry Cove or adventures along the Appalachian Trail or Downeast Farm Camp with Painted Pepper Farm.

Teen Leadership programs, ages 14-17: Two and three-week immersion trips to build leadership skills while exploring Maine’s beautiful natural areas via canoeing and backpacking.

We have scholarships available to cover up to 75% of the tuition for these programs. Funding is also available for first-time campers from National 4-H via CAMP III funds!

Check out programs online, email emma.beaudry@maine.edu, or call 207.789.5868.

UMaine 4-H Invites You to be a Part of Pride 2024

4-H will be participating in Pride festivities in Portland on June 15, 2024.  A pride event is a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, the rights won, and recognition of these individuals as existing and loved members of our communities. 4-H will participate in the parade portion by walking with a banner. Participants should plan on being at the event from noon – 2:30 p.m.

This event is open to any 4-H member or 4-H volunteer. Friends, family, and 4-H alumni are welcome but must have a 4-H member/volunteer hosting them.

To register or for more information, go to this webpage. If you have questions you can email 4-hpride@maine.edu.

4-H Tick Project

The 4-H Tick Project is a community science project engaging K-12 youth and educators, made possible through a partnership between 4-H Youth Development, UMaine Cooperative Extension Tick Lab, Maine Forest Tick Survey, and members of the Learning Ecosystems Northeast partnership. The project provides youth an opportunity to explore ticks and tick-borne diseases, which is a connected story of climate, ecosystem change, and public health.

All educators interested in teaching about ticks in Maine are encouraged to participate in the project at no cost to you. 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.

Fairs and Shows

4-H Swine Judging Clinic with Randy Shipley!

On June 22 Maine 4-H will be hosting a 4-H swine judging clinic at the Cumberland Fairgrounds. Instructed by Randy Shipley of Shipley Swine Genetics, participants will learn how to visually evaluate swine, gain confidence in comparing animals against breed standards, and practice explaining logical reasons for opinion. Whether you are new to 4-H swine projects or have been doing them for years, don’t miss this opportunity to learn from an industry expert.

Pre-registration is required. To sign up for the event please visit the webpage. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation please contact Sadee Mehuren at 207.342.5971 or sadee.mehuren@maine.edu.

Skowhegan Fair is Rapidly Approaching!

The Skowhegan Fair is coming! It will run from August 8-17, 2024. 

All rules and forms will be available on the fair website soon. Previous exhibitors will receive updated 4-H Exhibit Hall rules, information, and forms in the mail presently. Deadline to submit intent to exhibit forms for the 4-H Exhibit Hall is July 19. 

We will be hiring a few hall monitors for the 4-H Exhibition Hall to help with set up, judging day, and the duration of the fair, August 5- 17, 2024. Please reach out for an application if you are interested. Teens age 14 and up are encouraged to apply. Work permits will be required for those under 16.

Adult volunteers are needed to sit in the hall to support hall monitors for evening hours, typically between the hours of  4:00 – 8:00 p.m. 4-H volunteers, parents, and club leaders are encouraged to participate.

We are also looking for judges for Wednesday, August 7, to judge the wonderful work submitted by 4-H’ers for exhibitions and displays in the 4-H Hall.

Please reach out to Karen Giles at the Somerset County Extension office, karen.giles@maine.edu or 207-474-9622 for more information.

4-H Market Lamb Intent for Fryeburg Fair

Youth planning to participate in the Market Lamb program at Fryeburg Fair need to submit the 2024 Fryeburg Fair Market Lamb Intent form by June 5. An online form is available, otherwise youth can print and mail a copy downloaded from the website.

Leaders Meeting Minutes

May 15, 2024

Attendees: Eleanor Pooler, Hailey Dellarma, Karen Giles, Cheryl Perkins, Lori Swenson, 

Amended Fair Rules- Dover, Piscatquis, and Somerset Counties have created consolidated rules for the fairs, but Somerset has changed a few of our requirements for Skowhegan Fair. If showing in the other fairs, please refer to the original consolidated rules. There was a question about only three items per project per project. Dover and Piscataquis will remain at three items, but Skowhegan will still be just a maximum total of 10.  We reviewed the gardening requirements and made some tweaks. Poultry- We have removed the clear plastic container for the egg display, but the other counties may still require them. A reminder that members of clubs can now enter separate individual educational exhibits similar to the club educational displays. Individuals will be judged separately from clubs. The new rules will be available prior to the fair. We would recommend you get them as soon as possible so you can review them prior to making your exhibits. 

Fairgrounds 4-H Exhibit Hall cleanup date-  July 30th at 9:00A.M.

Cheryl motioned that the meeting be adjourned. Lori seconded. Meeting adjourned.

Next Meeting: June 26th at 5:00 P.M.