April 4-H Project of the Month - Environmental Education

4-H offers youth a mirid of ways to get into environmental education and wildlife conservation. Youth can create animal feeders, fishing poles, identify trees, and the list goes on for all of the ways they can explore their environment and learn about wildlife. We encourage youth to get to know the land they live on and interact with. By learning more about our environment, we can make informed decisions on how to continue to raise livestock and truly be stewards of the land. I encourage 4-Hers to get started today so we can bring on a better future! Here are some class options that youth and enter at fair based on Environmental education projects:

D342001            Houses - Make a house for wildlife. Examples: bird houses (wren, bluebird, purple martin, wood duck, kestrel, barn owl, etc.) or bat house. No insect houses.

D341003            Camping/Hiking Safety

D342003            Wildlife Habitat Design - Board or poster exhibit. Choose a backyard, acreage, or farm, and design a habitat plan to meet the food, water, shelter, and space                   needs of at least three kinds of animals you would like to attract.

D343001            Fish Harvesting Equipment - Board exhibit. Display of equipment used in fish harvesting. Examples: fishing knot, hooks (with corks over ends for safety), and                     lures.

D343004            Wildlife Harvesting Equipment - Board exhibit. Display of equipment used in harvesting wildlife. Examples: expended ammunition casings (no live ammunition                permitted), steel traps, hide stretchers, fleshers, etc.

D346002            Taxidermy - Any legal fish, bird, or other wild animal properly processed by the member.

If your 4-Her is interested in Environmental Education and you want more information, please contact the 4-H Assistant Shaniya at s.albertus@unl.edu. 

March 4-H Project of the Month- Communications and Expressive Arts 

February Project of the Month - Youth for the Quality Care of Animals

Nebraska 4-H requires all youth enrolled in livestock projects to complete annual quality assurance certification through Youth for the Quality Care of Animals (YQCA). YQCA is a national multi-species quality assurance program focused on three core pillars: food safety, animal well-being, and character development.

YQCA certification is required for all 4-H members enrolled in any of the following projects:

• Beef (bucket calf, feeder calf, breeding beef, market beef)
• Dairy Cattle
• Goat (breeding meat goat, dairy goat, meat goat)
• Poultry
• Rabbit
• Sheep (breeding sheep, market sheep)
• Swine (breeding swine, market swine)

Nebraska 4-H members ages 8-18, who are enrolled in any of the livestock projects listed above are required to participate in an annual YQCA training. Annual training requirements may be satisfied by completing either an online web-based training course or a face-to-face instructor-led training course.

The YQCA curriculum is broken into four levels: Junior ages 8-11, Intermediate ages 12-14, Senior ages 15-18 and Young Adult ages 19-21. Three or four levels of content focused on food safety, animal well-being and character are outlined for each level. Topics include but are not limited to:

• The Basics of Animal Identification
• Daily Animal Care
• Administering Animal Health Products
• Providing Quality Care
• Herd Health Plan
• Providing Quality Feed
• Sharing The Story
• Goals To Success
• Ethics In The Show Ring

Web-based annual training is available through the YQCA learning management system at yqcaprogram.org. The online YQCA course costs $12 per individual regardless of age.

Each session purchased includes three modules - a knowledge builder, a skills lab, and a quiz. The knowledge builder is where content is delivered. The skills lab provides an opportunity to apply the content. The quiz test knowledge. To receive certification, 80% must be achieved on the 10-question quiz. These modules, completed in their entirety, will provide 2-3 hours of experience.

Face-to-Face YQCA training is also available to satisfy annual training requirements. In-person YQCA training courses cost $3 per individual regardless of age. You must sign up for the training through yqcaprogram.org.

All students must take the pre-test after signing up for an instructor-led course. Instructors will not be able to mark students as complete before they take the pre-test. Students will access the pretest by signing into their YQCA account and then clicking on the blue username. In the drop-down menu, students will select “Enrolled ILT Trainings” and click the Pre-Test button. After Instructor-Led training, students then must complete a post-test in the same area.

DEADLINES:

The deadline to complete the annual YQCA training is June 15^th. Please check your local county information to ensure that you meet the deadline for county fair exhibition.

4-H members who exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair will need to have their YQCA training requirements met by the date of entry for those respective shows.

Please contact the extension office at 308-645-2267 or Shaniya Albertus at s.albertus@unl.edu if you have any questions.

Local Training Dates:

Hyannis TBD

Thedford March 7 @ 3:45 at the Thomas County Library

Mullen March 13 @ 3:45 MT in the Extension Office at the Hooker County Courthouse

January Project of the Month- Home Environment

One of the largest divisions we have in 4-H is Home Environment. This division takes up the most space in our fair book and if you have ever gone to state fair, you have seen it takes up a large area there too. So, what is the hype? Why are youth so excited to dig into these projects? I can tell you from experience, our youth are creative. They love to be challenged with innovative ideas and new projects. There are so many ways for them to explore their creativity in this division that it all comes out bursting at the seams!

Home Environment Exhibits are projects that are designed to be used for home decorating, home furnishing, or home management. The purpose of this division is for youth to learn design principles and develop their graphic design skills. We want to encourage youth to have well thought out design plans and explore diverse artistic techniques. Every year we see innovative designs and projects that top the year before.

So why is home environment the project of the moth in January? One of the best ways to keep our youth creative and busy during snow days and blizzardy weekends is to get them crafting! When they need to clean their room and decide to redecorate, a home environment project is the perfect way to get them moving. Maybe they need to create a new shelf or bookcase for all their trinkets, well why not make it? With the home environment division, the possibilities are endless. The open-ended classes give youth freedom to explore and design what they think will best fit.

Some project examples include furniture, accessories made from wood, glass, metal and textiles, design boards, recycled or upcycled items, and even heirloom treasures that have been restored. 4-H pushes our youth to explore their creativity and try something new. So, when your child is itching for something new this winter, point them towards a home environment project! Projects can be entered at county fair, or they can be something you enjoy at home.

For more information visit go.unl.edu/home_environment. If your 4-Her is interested in working on a home environment project and you want more information, please contact the 4-H Assistant Shaniya at s.albertus@unl.edu.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to sit down and celebrate the end of another momentous year and the holidays with our loved ones. In my family, we love to gather around a table full of food with our holiday tradition of oyster stew and chili on Christmas Eve. Christmas day, the family will come over, bringing with them desserts and salads, usually all old family recipes that have been enjoyed year after year. Food is a tradition that brings us together for every holiday or big event in our lives.

Once again, 4-H has many opportunities for those that love food and traditions as much as I do! The 4-H Foods and Nutrition project encourages youth to explore safe cooking practices and healthy eating. In this project, youth learn about many different cooking methods to improve their knowledge of cuisine. Youth can use this knowledge to compete at county at state fair with delicious homemade goods! Many of the classes include baked products but youth can also explore the art of food preservation with freezing, drying, and canning. There are also in-person cooking contests held at state fair, where youth can explore cooking proteins on a grill.

Food is something we need every day, but many people fail to really understand the complexity of the relationship food has with our body. By participating in the 4-H foods and nutrition project, youth are exposed to the raw ingredients they are putting into their bodies. They are able to understand the science and chemistry behind baking and preserving while also getting to know what the best choices or for fueling their body. We want to encourage youth to explore a healthy and fulfilling relationship with their food.

So, this Christmas, as you gather with your families, encourage everyone to share their love of food with the youth in your household. Cooking together is an incredible way to bond with each other and learn something new. For more information visit go.unl.edu/foods. Project examples include baked products, family food traditions, candy, cake decorating, freezing, drying, boiling water canning, pressure canning, and many more.

If your 4-Her is interested in working on a foods and nutrition project and you want more information, please contact the 4-H Assistant Shaniya at s.albertus@unl.edu.

November 4-H Project of the Month- Quilts of Valor

November is here and with it comes Veterans Day. The 11^th day of November is dedicated to all veterans who have served their country honorably during war or peacetime. One of the four Hs in 4-H stands for hands, and as some may know we 4-Hers pledge our hands to service. Service is something near and dear to many of our hearts. We respect and honor the sacrifices our military, firefighters, EMTS, and police make every day to keep us safe. Our 4-H program honors these people with programs like the Quilts of Valor.

Quilts of Valor is a statewide community service project that involves creating and donating quilts to the service men and women who are protecting our country and who are "touched by war." The quilts are collected and given through the Quilts of Valor Foundation or through direct donation to community members. These quilts can be completed by 4-H members and volunteers working alone or in groups to make the quilts. Donations of fabric, batting or machine-quilting may be located in order to complete the project. Service organizations or other donors in the community may help provide funds for the Quilt of Valor.

This service project is one that has really taken off in areas surrounding our four counties. Quilts of Valor are amazing service projects that allow our youth to get to know service members in their area. It also teaches our youth the value of civic engagement and service to a cause larger than themselves. Quilting is a fantastic skill to learn and share with others. It is also challenging work and takes time. Our youth can benefit from seeing their challenging work go to deserving people in their community.

If your 4-Her or 4-H club is interested in the Quilts of Valor project, and you want more information, please contact the 4-H Assistant Shaniya at s.albertus@unl.edu. You can also find more information on the Quilts of Valor guidelines at go.unl.edu/quiltsofvalor. We cannot provide these project opportunities without amazing volunteers from our communities. If you are willing to share your knowledge of quilting with the youth in your community, please contact your extension office today! We would love to set up workshops with our local youth.

October 4-H Project of the Month- Clothing

As the weather gets cooler, we are all thinking about the perfect fall hats, sweaters, and comfortable clothes to wear to football games or just snuggling up on the couch. Sometimes it can be hard to find the perfect hat to buy or the perfect outfit. Nothing matches your vision! So... Why not make it? With 4-H, youth can learn how to sew, knit, and crochet their favorite clothing items.

Sewing, knitting, and crocheting have become a lost art in our communities. They used to be taught to us in school or through our grandparents but as each generation grows older, we find fewer and fewer people actually have these skills to share with others. Through 4-H, we hope to encourage youth to branch out and learn these skills so that we can help youth to build independence and nurture their creativity, while also opening new career pathways.

Participants in the 4-H clothing category demonstrate their knowledge of the creation of garments using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) techniques. These techniques are fundamental to the 4-H mentality, as we encourage youth to explore every avenue they can. Whether it is using their math skills to calculate the fabric needed for a project or pushing the boundaries by using technology to sew LED lights into their favorite Christmas sweater, we want youth to explore every interest while focusing on hands on skills that will help them get further in life.

 Youth can explore many careers by developing these skills. They can start their own businesses in clothing, furniture upholstery, leathercrafting, bookbinding, and even becoming a hatter. These are just a few of the hundreds of things they could do! Sewing, knitting, and crocheting are skills that any youth, male or female, can nurture into a truly amazing and creative career.

We cannot provide these project opportunities without amazing volunteers from our communities. If you are willing to share your knowledge of sewing, knitting, or crocheting with the youth in your community, please contact your extension office today! The best attended workshops from this past summer were the sewing workshops. Our youth want to learn what you are willing to share! If your 4-Her is interested in working on a clothing project and you want more information, please contact the 4-H Assistant Shaniya at s.albertus@unl.edu. 

September 4-H Project of the Month- LEGO LEAGUE, ROBOTICS

May 4-H Project of the Month- DOG

One of the most widely owned pets is a family dog. There are many benefits to youth taking an active role in pet care responsibilities. Pet ownership has been associated with improved emotional, physical, and mental health. Pets also teach youth valuable lessons in responsibility, trust, compassion, and respect. If you have a family dog, your child could greatly benefit from the 4-H Dog Program. 

The horse industry contributes approximately $50 billion to the U.S. economy and directly impacts more than 900,000 jobs, according to the American Horse Council. The 4-H Horse Project is one of the most popular projects in the Central Sandhills Area. Along with learning horsemanship and animal science, Nebraska 4-H members practice life skills, such as responsibility, self-discipline, personal safety, goal setting, and keeping records.