 July 2008Newsletter Editor: Contents:
HELP WANTEDOur Broadcasting Project is growing exceptionally well. We have an energetic team of youth working on it with Micah, and they are beginning to develop a nice variety of programming options. But in mid-July, we'll be saying goodbye to Micah as his Americorps term ends. In order for this exciting project to continue, we need someone to step forward to begin working with us NOW. As an adult Broadcasting Project volunteer, you'll work with youth as they learn how to use available technology to develop music programs, Public Service Announcements, spoken word programs, and more. Your interest and energy levels are much more important than your experience levels, as the 4-H motto is "learn by doing!" Our long term goals for this project include creating a dynamic partnership with the up and coming KWPA radio station, establishing an archive of local interest interviews, providing audio files of educational info addressing local issues, offering a format to highlight our 4-H performing art members, and so many other applications. But we can't do any of them without you. Check out the Broadcast page. If you like what you see and want to help us make sure it continues, please contact Judy FeldmanWSU/Island County 4-H Program Coordinator 360-679-7328 Coming Events
Club Reports
Fiber Friends Fiber Friends is a new 4-H club this year. We have fun each month learning a new fiber art craft. We've learned drop spinning, needle felting, kumihimo braiding, sewing felt projects, and locker hooking. This summer we are working on silk painting and fiber dyeing. We also learn about fiber animals (alpacas, goats, sheep, rabbits), how fiber gets from the animal into yarn, and veterinary science. We are planning a trip to a fiber mill and sheep farm this summer. We always learn a lot and have fun with our Fiber Friends, the animals. They are especially nice. Teen Conference This year, 6 Island County teens and 2 leaders attended 4-H's annual Teen Leadership Conference at WSU in Pullman. These folks were: Alex Hernandez, Laura Hernandez, Eric Williams, Lee Berman, Laura Harkins, Jon Gabelein, and Lisa Harkins. The 2008 conference was the largest conference since 1982 with over 300 people! This conference offers youth fun opportunities to further strengthen their leadership abilities and meet youth from all over our state while experiencing life on a college campus. Highlights included participating in a variety of the state's most popular 4-H workshops: hearing (and running with!) Sam Thompson who is a motivational speaker that ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days in support of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts; completing service learning by assembling "Hero Packs" and writing letters for Operation Military Kids (OMK); talking with nationally recognized and "Leadership for a Changing World" award-winning youth activist Lateefah Simon; and the always popular teen dance. After enjoying 95+ degree weather for 4 days, the group returned to the island on Tuesday, July 1, with new ideas and motivation towards pursuing valuable leadership experiences as young adults. WSU's Teen Leadership Conference happens at WSU in June each year and it open to teens who have completed 7th grade or above. We look forward to taking another great Island group next year! Committee Reports
Leaders' Council - Officers of the Leaders' Council and chairs of the various committees have been stepping up their leadership roles! Already great leaders, they are taking a more active role in the facilitation of meetings, and staying more involved with developments and issues that impact the 4-H Youth Development Program in Island County. At the June meeting, they used the Experiential Learning Model as the basis of a discussion of our Spring Show. This not only allowed folks to take some time to consider all that was involved with Spring Show and how it can become an even more powerful event in the future, but it also gave leaders in attendance a chance to better understand how to use the model in the club setting. Secretary, Pam Uhlig, has already taken the model back to her club, and reports that it was very helpful for 4-H'ers and parents alike. It allowed her to hear more from the kids about all the things they observed and learned while showing, and more from the parents regarding what THEY learned about all the work and preparation that goes into a show. Dog Project Committee - Our dog 4- program had a successful work party on May 31st to get a jump start o getting the dog barn cleaned up for fair. There were about 20 kids and parents that came to the barn to do some weeding and cleaning. We had gutters recently put on the barn, which will help with keeping the mud from coming in when we get a heavy rain. One of our dads, Jeff Chiarizio, pressure washed the barn and bleachers and now everything is set for a paint party! Our 4-H dog program consists of 4 clubs, 2 on the south end, one central, and one north end club and about 35 members between the 4 clubs. Horse Project Committee - Now two-thirds of the way through our qualifying shows fo Fair, we are directing our thoughts towards barn decorations and meeting the various deadlines that are so important within the next month. I know we all say it, but it IS amazing how the time seems to speed up during show season! We even managed to re-write our Island County Rules Book which is quite extensive. Both our north and south end clubs held carwashes recently to add to our treasury. Thanks to all who pitched in! Also, we still have some t-shirts available from last season that we will be selling at the next Leaders' Council Meeting on July 10th at a reduced cost. There is no mention of the year, so this will be hard to pas up. the colors are vibrant (blue, pink and lime green) so will certainly draw attention to the supporters of 4-H while being worn. Thanks to Marc Zahrt and Pete Thompson for rebuilding the hay storage area behind Barn #3 which was demolished last year. The area looks fantastic and should serve its purpose for many years to come. Look for a new compost area between Barns #1 & 2. The old fencing has been taken down and trees are trimmed so it looks like a "go" for sure! Just think, no more walking up the ramp with those wheelbarrows again! Anyone for demolition party? Each year about this time, I think back to all that we have achieved since October and I can't thank everyone in our division enough for making this time so rewarding. You are so appreciated! Livestock Sale Committee - To promote the auction, the committee is purchasing 1000 postcards to distribute to past and potential buyers, and to hand out at local businesses and at the Fair. Check out the blog for more info on the progress of the 4-h'ers in Market Animal projects! Looking Back at June
It's true, the older you get, the faster time seems to fly by. It doesn't help when your days are jam-packed either. The month started with a Board Meeting at the M-Bar-C Ranch, where I got the chance to check out their new covered arena. It's a bit small for our 4-H Horse events, but plenty big for the M-Bar-C's work with horses and kids facing challenging circumstances. It will also be a nice venue for our other 4-H projects. The Ranch would love to have us partner with them on more activities, and would be so excited to have various 4-H events and exhibitions take place there. Please go check out their facilities if you have a chance. I think you will be inspired by the possibilities! Jay Kidder and I went to a South Whidbey Kiwanis meeting, to give a presentation on how that group might help 4-H prepare for fair, and on the Livestock Sale. What a great group of community minded folks! They were quite interested in the auction, and plan to discuss ways they might help us get the barns ready for the big event. We began our planning for the 3rd Annual Whidbey Island Farm Tour! WSU Extension is a co-sponsor of this event, and we are excited about the opportunities it gives 4-H'ers to show off their clubs and projects. The Farm Tour works to: educate our community about our Whidbey Island Farms; promote the benefits of locally grown food, fiber, and other products; and assist our local farms in their marketing and publicity efforts and overall sustainability. Please be talking with your club about "adopting" a farm site on the tour and using it as a platform for recruiting as well as educating the public about your club projects. I taught 100 first graders how to plant and care for seeds at a Hillcrest Elementary field day at the Hummingbird Farm. Such fun! Also on hand were folks to teach about soils, composting, worm bins, and birds. It was a great day. I also continued a partnership with Juvenile Court Services, giving what has become my traditional once-a-month presentation to families about creating, recognizing, and seeking out opportunities to be engaged in our community. In the midst of all this, we have created and distributed packets of information about our involvement at the fair (and how best to prepare for it), and we have been working to get our new meat goat division set up and ready to exhibit in what was previously the Heritage Barn. We will certainly miss seeing that dynamic Colonial Critters club in that barn, but the energy of this new Whidbey Island Meat Goat Club is amazing, with many former Colonial Critter members. So the tradition of excellence looks like it will continue. The recently re-named Four Season Farms club will also be housed in that barn this year, so please make sure you go over and show your support at this year's fair. Finally, plans are already underway for the 2008 WSU Extension Dance on the Prairie. We don't have a full brochure ready yet, but please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 6th. A fundraiser for the Extension Program, it is a FUN evening of dancing and catching up with neighbors. Food For Thought
This has been a fantastic year to really think about food and how it comes to be on our tables! The price of gas has impacted every aspect of food production. This has been compounded by the weather various parts of the country have been experiencing. We also hope that you have all taken up the challenge to grow something edible this year. It's never too late to plant something! Especially this year, when it feels like summer is trying to arrive but hasn't fully established itself yet! Skagit Gardens has donated a big bag of seeds for this program, so if you're interested in giving it a try, let Judy know! You're On The Air!
The broadcast crew is growing, both in numbers and in the variety of projects they are taking on. Check out the samples of their work at their website. The project has also just been supported by the Coupeville Lions Club! They gave us $200 to purchase a small recorder that can be used for interviews out in the field. Anyone interested in doing some of these during the fair? Fair Report
Each club leader should have two packets of information about the fair by now. One large one that contains almost any form you might need for the event, and one smaller one that has more detailed info on educational posters, public presentations, and more. If you don't have a copy, please let Judy know ASAP. All the info is availble on our website, but if you want a hard copy we want you to have it! Premium Books are available from the Fair Office, the WSU Extension Office, and many other sites throughout the community. They are also available on-line. Make sure you read it all the way through, so you don't miss a possible entry. With the new road at the fairgrounds and the loss of the parking area across the street from the main entrance, we may be asked to park our overnight vehicles differently this year. We don't have a final proposal from the Fair Board yet, but please be aware that one will be made and that we will need to do our part to make things easier for the general public. As always, we ask that everyone, youth and adults alike, remembers that the fair is a community event is intended to be safe, educational, and fun. When you feel your stress levels begin to rise, take a break. Take a deep breath. Stop taking things so seriously, unless of course they really are serious (as in dangerous to animals or people). Consider all the things going on in the world, and put the fair into perspective. What are other WSU Extension programs up to?
Master Gardeners - Plant Clinics are going on at all of the farmers markets now! If you are encountering disease or pest issues in your landscape or edible gardens, bring a sample to one of the clinics and the Master Gardeners will help you figure out what's going on and if/how you might deal with it. Livestock Advisors - available to share information with our 4-H clubs…ask Judy Beach Watchers - They have started a new eel grass inventory project, and an educational outreach project concerning escape cords on crab pots. For more information, be sure to visit their website! This is really cool stuff! Waste Wise Volunteers - These folks will be helping out a lot at Fair, with recycling as well as the new manure composting facilities. Please take the time to get to know them and learn from them! Shore Stewards - Scott is working on grant funded projects at Strawberry Point and Holmes Harbor…if you live in those areas and are interested in participating (possible some grant funding available for clubs) let me know! Admiralty Head Lighthouse Docents - Lighthouse License Plates are still for sale! Agriculture Sustainability & Land Stewardship - working on all sorts of exciting ag projects! Olivia is a great resource for us, so be sure to introduce yourself to her at some point. We want all of our 4-H families to be models of good land stewardship. This year, we will all be working together in the WSU Extension Booth in front of the 4-H Building. Instead of having 4-H on one end of the fairgrounds and everyone else on the other end, we will have a combined booth with information to share about ALL of our WSU Extension Programs. This is exciting! It gives us a chance to learn more about each other as the public does the same. Be sure to sign up for a shift. Go to the WSU Extension programs website and 4-H is in the business of growing kids! We do this by working in our community to offer a wide range of opportunities for K-12 youth. Our goal is to support kids as they discover their talents and interests and then provide them with experiences to help them deepen, strengthen, and use those talents and interests! In addition to the club structure that many are familiar with, we also offer activities for families that can be done outside of a commitment to a club, and resources for educators to use in their classrooms. |
We hope that you are taking time to discuss these issues with your clubs. Our goal is not to depress folks, but to stimulate some critical thinking about personal and cultural sustainability. How do we, as a society, design food systems that keep everyone healthy and peaceful? How do we, as communities, look out for neighbors who are vulnerable? What skills should all of us have relating to food? How does living on an island impact our plans and concerns about food? What happens to communities when there is not enough food? What kinds of challenges do other countries have regarding food?