Raining in a New Era

The Dirty Rascal Junior Master Gardeners met this evening to talk about something very important...living green.  Specifically they wanted to work on water conservation.  The group met at the 4-H office and club volunteer Kerrie Roach brainstormed ways with them that they could conserve water.  Ideas ranged from turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth to not running sprinklers in the rain.
After learning about water conservation they group learned how rain barrels work.  The ones they are decorating are recycled 55 gallon drums donated by Unilever.  The barrels were cleaned out and being re purposed to use at home.  As the club members learned last night they barrels are positioned under a down spout and rain water is collected in them.  A spicket near the front base allows the user to access the water to water their plants or lawn.  The club members were very excited about decorating the barrels to jazz them up.  Two of the barrels are being donated to the planetarium while the other two will be sold to raise money for the club. 
Immediately the teams got to work.  They split up into twos to work on their projects.  Each team drew for the color barrel they would be designing on (they were spray painted a base coast of red, green, black, and blue).  Each group mapped out a theme for their barrel and then worked together on the design. After drawing out some ideas on paper it was time for paint.  The youth spent a great deal of time thinking of their theme and how to paint it.  they worked together to get them done so that Mrs. Kerrie can put a clear varnish on them to protect them.
The youth plan to donate two of the barrels to the planetarium and two will be sold as part of their annual fundraiser in April with the Master Gardener plant sale.

Welcome Kung-Fu

   We are pleased to announce a brand new club in our midst today. The Kung-Fu Chicken 4-H Poultry Club held their first meeting today at the 4-H office. The club is being lead by Cindy Herndon with co-leader Jessica Pate. There are six members in the club that plans to meet monthly. The clubs next meeting will be February 16th at 4 pm at the 4-H office. If you are interested in learning more about this club or becoming a member please contact the 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.

The Apple of our Eye

 Below is the report filed by club reporter Kierin Hatcher.  It is an update of the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H club's last meeting.

Going All the Way to the State Fair

There were rides, cotton candy, games and families everywhere. It definitely had all the signs of the North Carolina State Fair. For some lucky 4-H members it, was much more, it was the pinnacle of animal science competitions.

Benjamin Herndon travelled to the state fair with his parents, lambs, goats, and turkey. This is not Benjamin's first time at the state fair but it is his first time showing turkey's. According to the state rules the turkey's much weigh at least 20 pounds to compete (not an easy task when you get your turkey in August). Wellington, Benjamin's turkey, weighed in at 44 pounds. Not exactly light when you think about it. Especially when you have to get your bird out of a cage, carry it upside down to the waiting area, wait with it (mind you Wellington waited quite patiently with his feet on the ground and did not waddle anywhere) then carry it in and keep it from flapping away while you sit on a hay bale. Benjamin was in heat 5 of the competition and out of 15 other competitors came in third in his heat. That is an incredible accomplishment especially for someone who has not raised turkey's before.

While the turkey show was going on, so was the goat show. Unfortunately Benjamin was in heat 8 of the goat show which happened at the same time he was showing his turkey. Thanks to Angela Shaver, the Cumberland County 4-H Agent, Benjamin's goat still made it in the ring. Sarah Maske was kind enough to show Benjamin's goat for him. Although his goat didn't place as high as his turkey, Benjamin was reminded what a wonderful group of 4-H members there are showing. In other organizations people would not step up and help out, but 4-H is different. Our youth step up and help each other everyday, that is one of the things that makes this organization stand out from the others.

Also competing in the goat show was Santiago Acuna-Robinson. He placed second and fourth with two of his goats. That qualified him to compete in the champion drive. Although he did not take home grand or reserve this year, watch out because he is one of the most improved showers this year and may come home with the state honors sooner rather than later.
Congratulations to all our 4-H members who competed on the state level. Job well Done!

Stregthening Families, The Introduction

 

 Strengthening Families is a program developed by Cooperative Extension in Iowa.  The seven week program allows families with children between the ages of 9-14 to work together to strengthen communication, give them tools to talk about tough subjects, and bring the families together in those sensitive tween years.  

  Tonight we started our series with three families which have five children.  Traditionally on the first night we have dinner, break into two groups (adult and youth), and start breaking the ice and learning about the program.  After the breakout session the families come together to practice using the tools they received during the breakout sessions.  As part of that we played human knot and other team building games to make sure everyone had a chance to start working together.

  Thanks to United Way funding we are able to offer this program annually for free to families.  If you would like more information about this program please contact Christy Strickland, Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent at (910) 671-3276.   

An Apple a Day...

  We just started back to school and already the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club is talking about grades.  This time it isn't school grades, it's grading something you might give to your teacher...apples.  Kerrie Roach, the Horticulture Extension Agent joined the group for their October meeting with a whole bushel (or at least bunch) of apples.  September and October are known as the months for apples.  What you may not know is that the prettiest apples may not be the best apples.

  So to learn how to grade apples and learn what makes a good apple it is necessary to touch them, look at them, squeeze them, and of course eat them.  Although going in there were those who knew that a Granny Smith or Red Delicious would be their favorite just because that is always what they eat, learned something new today.  The youth had to write down their top apple picks based on looks, touch or squeeze and then taste.  There were a lot of ewwhhh yucks when it came time to taste some of the apples, just because the taste was not what they expected.  So based on that when they looked back at their judging sheets, what fruit they thought might get the best grades, didn't.

  After the lesson, there were an awful lot of apples left, so out came the fruit dips and the apples were consumed.  While they were consumed the club members learned how to grow an apple tree from the seeds in the apple.  the club also caught up on 4-H news and got ready for their upcoming field trip.

Introducing the All Around All Stars!

It is exciting to make the announcement about a new club and I think it is fair to say this new club is more colorful than all of our others. The organizational meeting for the All Around All Stars 4-H Arts and Crafts club took place tonight. Club Leader Jessica Drake has tons of volunteer help for this club, and just wanted to pull our youth together for a little creative fun. "I am really excited about this club and the opportunities for our youth to explore arts and crafts that they have not done before and give them an opportunity to express their creative side," said Drake.
The beginning of the club meeting was filled with the usual, filling out forms, setting a schedule and picking out a club name. Several names were solicited from the group including; "The Snack and Juice Club", "The Mighty Superheros", "The Imaginators", "The Crafty Crafters", and even "The Cut-Ups". In the end the members voted for. "The All Around All Stars 4-H Club" and that is how they will be referred to forever more.
After taking care of the paperwork and club name it was time to get down to business. Bookmarks and water bottles were waiting to be decorated. With each youth getting down to business with glue sticks and really neat cutouts creative bookmarks were conceived. They were so neat, and adorned with 4-H, ribbons and squiggles it just makes you want to sit down with a bottle of water and read a book so you can use it all.
The club adjourned their first and very successful meeting until next time. They have decided that they will meet the first Thursday of each month at the 4-H office. The meetings will begin at 5:30 pm and will last an hour to an hour and a half. If you are interested in being a part of this club please contact the 4-H office at (910) 671-3276.