4-H in Washington County – August 2024
Table of Contents
Dates to Remember
NEW CLUB ALERT! Conservation Career 4-H Club
“Show Your Sparks” Washington County Fair Exhibit reminders
Washington County 4-H Photography Contest
4-H Science Friday – UPDATE
Black Bear Camp at UMM
Oh Yea 4-H Grows True Leaders
Cobscook Currents 4-H Club
Crafting Clovers 4-H Club
News from the State
Dates to Remember
August 16: 4-H Science Fridays- Blueberries
August 16: Washington County Fair Registration
August 24-25: Washington County Fair
September 2024 – July 2025– Conservation Career 4-H Club
September 27: 4-H Science Fridays- Apples
NEW CLUB ALERT! Conservation Career 4-H Club
UMaine Cooperative Extension 4-H and Maine Coast Heritage Trust are partnering to offer a new 4-H club. Conservation Career 4-H Club will be a year-long club program designed to help Washington County youth ages 14-17 explore conservation career fields, build relationships with industry professionals, gain clarity on their aspirations, and foster a connection to place. The club will meet year-round, starting in September, 2024. The structure alternates between bi-monthly meetings and site visits, typically falling on the third Thursday of each month. The site visits will take place during school hours, youth will be able to leave school for these educational experiences, with teacher permission. To see the club schedule and to register, visit our website.
“Show Your Sparks” Washington County Fair Exhibit reminders
REMINDER all 4-H youth who are submitting projects to the Washington County Fair 4-H Exhibit need to register their exhibits by Friday, August 16th. You can do so on our “Show Your Sparks” Exhibit webpage. Don’t forget to attach an Exhibit Card to each project! Exhibit cards are available at the Washington County Cooperative Extension Office. Projects can be dropped off at the Washington County Cooperative Extension office on Thursday, August 22nd by 4:00pm OR at the fairgrounds (222 Old County Rd, Pembroke) on Friday, August 23rd between 9:00am and 12:00pm. Projects can be picked up on Sunday, August 25th at the fairgrounds between 2-3pm OR can be taken back to the Extension office to be picked up at another time.
Washington County 4-H Photography Contest
Thank you to all our 4-H’ers who submitted original photographs to the annual 4-H Photo Contest! Submitted photos will be displayed at the Washington County Fair on August 24th and 25th. During the month of September photos will be on display at the Lubec Memorial Library, starting Thursday, August 29th. In the meantime, we have three community members who have volunteered their time and expertise to judge the photos: Cathy Lookabaugh from Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Robert (Bob) McCollum from Roque Bluffs Community Center, and Fern Hilyard, who is the Marketing and Communications Assistant at Washington Academy. We thank them for their contributions to make this contest possible!
In wrapping up the Ag and Ecology 101 4-H Science Friday series program, youth joined University of Maine at Machias students for an in depth tour of the UMM Garden Club garden. This past summer, a couple devoted UMM students breathed life back into the garden, and were able to share their harvests with the youth. 4-H Science Friday participants tested garden soil for pH and nutrient factors, giving the data back to the UMM students to use for future planning.
The August 16 4-H Science Friday features blueberries! Find out more and register by visiting the website.
The University of Maine at Machias is hosting a themed Black Bear Camp week once a month this summer. 4-H joined in on the fun for Nature Week, leading youth through a variety of nature-related activities such as making clay pollinators, building bugs, nature walks, nature charades and more!
Oh Yea! 4-H Grows True Leaders had a super packed summer. Four teens from Washington County attended the True Leaders In Equity conference in Washington D.C. where they attended seminars and inspirational panel discussions designed to encourage teenagers from around the country to strive for improvements in their local communities.
Mid-month, a large group of Oh Yea! members from Milbridge and Princeton joined other 4-H kids and their families at Maine 4-H Days where they pitched camp at the Windsor Fair Grounds. It was an overnight of light roughing-it and fun workshops.
Finally, Oh Yea! 4-H is ending its year by providing enrichment activities at Blueberry Harvest School. The teens from our new youth council have trained all year to provide the university’s Summer of Science curriculum to the children of the seasonal, blueberry-harvest workers.
Jason Palomo, the 4-H Development Professional at the UMM campus is excited to start program-planning for the upcoming school year with Mano En Mano as soon as the picking season is over. Stay tuned for fun, educational opportunities starting in October!
The Cobscook Currents 4-H Club worked on getting their photos ready to submit to the Washington County 4-H Photo Contest.
Joe McBrine (seen in photo below with members of Cobscook Currents) came to a club meeting at the end of June. He outlined job responsibilities of a game warden and gave the group the challenge of clue finding on poaching cases.
In July, the club met at Melinda Jaques art gallery in Dennysville. “It is a circus series. The exhibition featured works of Robert Munford that he did in the 70’s as a commission from the Ringling Bros: paintings, watercolors and prints – lots of animals, acrobats and vibrant colors.” They did a little project for Melinda: picking up blown down tree branches around her house. Good work!
Crafting Clovers 4-H Club – UPDATE
Hands were busy at the latest club meeting making bracelets and necklaces, adding personal touches with beads and various colors. Youth and their families enjoyed a picnic outside at the Calais Free Library, focusing on the fourth H – Health!
4-H News from the State
4-H Tick Project
The 4-H Tick Projectis 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 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.