4-H in Washington County - November 2018 - Cooperative Extension in Washington County - University of Maine Cooperative Extension

We had a busy day at the Perry Harvest Fair! Lots of people stopped by to see the 4-H display! Congratulations to Riley Wright for winning Best in Show for his beautiful handmade knife! From fresh eggs and artwork to homemade soap a sewing project made from a recycled grain bag, our 4-Hers submitted OUTSTANDING projects this year! In addition, over 40 youth participated in our “Seed Viability” activity. They put 10 seeds with a wet paper towel in a Ziplock bag and made a predication about how many seeds would sprout. A week later it was fun to see their emailed results- we learned year old seeds can definitely be planted in the next season and still have a good chance of growing!

4-H Project table at Perry Harvest Fair

Knife made by 4-H member Riley W.

Seed project, 80% of seeds sprouted

Washington Academy Class Gets Involved with 4-H

The students in Mr. Campbell’s Apprenticeship Class at Washington Academy are AWESOME! We approached them to see if they could help build some raised beds for the school garden. When they heard about the 4-H Tech Changemaker project (sponsored by National 4-H Council and Microsoft) to address food insecurity, they were excited to not only build raised beds, but also to help fix the greenhouse and build a grow table to use inside this winter! Next week a 4-H Sustainable Food Club will be starting at the school. It is exciting to see so many youth getting involved!

Washington Academy students and garden

student working with wood

Harmon Foundation Helps Send Youth to 4-H Camp and Learning Center

4-H member, Anna P, wrote about her experience at Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center this summer. The Harmon Foundation sponsored funding in part for this experience.

“My name is Anna P, I am 12 years old. I attended the 4-H camp at Bryant Pond in western Maine this summer from July 22-27. The program I did was Rock Hounds, which was based on geology. We went on a small field trip to Bumpus Mine and explored the cave that was there along with going to the Maine Mineral Museum. We also did a lot of other activities like canoeing, swimming and hiking.

I’m not sure what I want to do next year but I hope I can go back to Bryant Pond!“

Reenrollment 2018 – All 4-H reenrollment forms have been mailed out. Please contact Tara Wood at tara.a.wood@maine.edu or by telephone at 207.255.3345 if you did not receive your forms.

Reminder about Fundraising – If your club is planning fundraising events this year, please remember to post a UMaine fundraising sign at your location (such as on a table, etc). You can request signs from the Extension Office, or download a PDF at this link:

Washington County Fundraising Signs

Thank you for complying with this mandate from UMaine.

Family Code Night with the Hour of Code Coming in December

Family Code Night is a whole-family event at which kids grades K-5 and their parents do their first hour of computer programming – together! At this special evening of learning and fun, you’ll play in parent-child teams to complete fun Code.org puzzles and challenges at your own pace, and learn core concepts in coding in this very first hour. No coding experience needed, laptops available if needed (bring one device for each two attendees if you can). This is a great experience to share with your kids!

Watch for more information on this event being organized all over Washington County!

Cooking with the Kids

Pumpkin or Squash Bread

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar

¼ cup oil

¾ cup pumpkin or squash puree

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Optional Ingredients:

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2.In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, pumpkin or squash and eggs.

3.In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Fold this into the other mixture just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. (Optional: Stir in the raisins and nuts.) Pour the batter into a greased 9 X 5” loaf pan.

4.Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension Eat Well

4-H News from the State

Please provide feedback on Project Records!
Maine 4-H Project Records Survey

You are invited to participate in a statewide research project being conducted by Kristy Ouellette and Jennifer Lobley, Extension Educators at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. 4-H volunteers and staff from all over Maine will participate in this study.

Purpose of this research project: We recognize the value of our 4-H volunteers. As a state we have rolled out new 4-H Project Records. We want to have a better understanding of your beliefs and understandings of the function of these records. What will you be asked to do? If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete an on-line survey with questions pertaining to your attitudes and beliefs regarding 4-H project records in Maine. The survey will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete. Risks: Except for your time and inconvenience, there are no foreseeable risks to you in participating in this study. Benefits: You will be eligible to enter into a raffle for a $25.00 gift card to Hannaford. Confidentiality: As a participant you will be anonymous. Investigators or a student will enter data into a computer. Data will be kept on a secured computer with only the investigators or a student having access. Data will be kept for a period of 5 years. Voluntary: Participation is voluntary. If you choose to take part in this study, you may stop at any time during the study. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer. Participation in the on-line survey implies consent to participate.

Contact Information: If you have any questions about this study, please contact Kristy Ouellette at 207.353.5550 or kristy.ouellette@maine.edu If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Gayle Jones, Assistant to the University of Maine’s Protection of Human Subjects Review Board, at 581.1498 (or e-mail gayle.jones@maine.edu).

2019 Maine State Science Fair
It’s time to announce the 2019 Maine State Science Fair, to be held Saturday, March 23 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Prizes and awards include 12 four-year, full-tuition scholarships to The University of Maine (including admission to the UMaine Honors College), and major scholarships from University of New England, College of the Atlantic, and Husson University. In 2018, MSSF awarded over $1 million in scholarships and awards. Other scholarships may be announced in the coming weeks.

The Maine State Science Fair is open, without cost, to all Maine high school students who complete their own research or engineering project individually or in teams of 2-3. The purpose of MSSF is to present, learn, and discuss science with peers and STEM professionals from across Maine. Projects are invited from across all STEM disciplines: life sciences, agriculture, mathematics, computer sciences, psychology, energy, physics, marine science, environmental sciences, ecology, and chemistry. All STEM projects are considered!

Important dates for this year’s MSSF:
– January 18 – student registration deadline.
– February 1 – research plan deadline.
– March 1 – preliminary research results deadline.
– March 23 – Maine State Science Fair.

Maine State Science Fair Website

4-H Page Day in Augusta – January 29, 2019
UMaine Day at the Legislature, Tuesday, January 29, is approaching. It’s a day where Cooperative Extension gets to highlight our awesome programs, and 4-H is one of the best! Since legislators like to see 4-H members from their districts, 4-Hers (age 13 or older) are encouraged to serve as Honorary Pages. The Maine 4-H program has up to 30 slots for Honorary Pages.

What does a page do? Legislators are constantly communicating and making decisions while in session and pages make that communication possible. Pages hand out information packets or place the paper information on their desks. Pages will also run communication and documents directly from legislator to legislator.

If you are interested in serving as a page, please contact Diana at 207-622-7546 or diana.hartley@maine.edu.

We would love to pages from all over the state represented. Slots, representing different state senators and representatives, will be filled in the order they are received, but the final deadline is January 20th. If the slot for your legislative district has been filled, your name will be added to a wait list in the order it is received. If you are leaving a message, please be sure to say “I am interested in serving as a 4-H Page at the Legislature on January 29”. Your slot will be reserved if you leave this complete information:
– Full Name                                                               – Age
– Mailing Address                                                    – County
– Phone Number                                                      – Email Address (this is how we will confirm you)
– Name of your School                                            – Name of your 4-H Club
– Name of your Maine State Representative      – Name of your Maine State Senator
– Name of your Adult Chaperone                          – Adult Chaperone’s cell phone number

4-H Honorary Pages will be in the Capitol from 8:30am– 3:00pm. A parent or 4-H volunteer must provide transportation and chaperoning. If you have questions, please let Alisha know at alisha.r.targonski@maine.edu.

Farm Service Agency Youth Loans
The Farm Service Agency makes loans to youth to establish and operate agricultural income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5000.
Requirements:

Be a citizen of the United States
Be 10 years to 20 years of age
Comply with FSA’s general eligibility requirements
Be unable to get a loan from other sources
Conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program of work as outlined above
Demonstrate capability of planning, managing and operating the project under guidance and assistance from a project advisor.

For more information stop by your Local FSA County Office or call Mary Anne Coffin at 207.990.9140.

Cooperative Extension in Washington County

4-H in Washington County – November 2018

Table of Contents

Dates to Remember

Cooking with the Kids

4-H News from the State