NEWBERRY — Newberry County 4-H clubs and projects are now open for enrollment, according to Alana West, Newberry County 4-H agent. The organization’s club year runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, 2016.
Not all kids play sports at school, are in the band, chorus, or even take dance or piano, West said, and sometimes parents cannot afford those activities.
“4-H opens its doors to all kids. We try to fit the needs of different backgrounds, different ages, different interests,” West said. “And in addition to providing a hands on learning experience, we try to offer the educational and responsibility aspects as well.”
Beginning in September, on the first Monday of every month, children ages 5-8 can sign up for 4-H’s Clovers in the Kitchen Club. The club meets from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Newberry Extension Office.
West said this will be the fifth year for the club in Newberry.
“I had a club like this when I worked in Cherokee County,” West said. “I got the idea from Union County 4-H.”
This year, West said participants will cook a recipe from a different county each month while learning a little about that country.
“We have a two bite rule: you cook it, you eat it,” West said.
West said she did not want the kids to just learn about cooking but to experience new foods too. They will also learn to wash their dishes. She said it always surprises her the number of children who do not know how.
4-H has a three year circuit with this class, West said. Year one is holidays — cooking a recipe that matches a holiday in that month. They are currently in the second year of the circuit which puts them learning about different countries. The third year is about cooking with color, using a different color main ingredient each month.
West said previous cooking from other countries has involved baked bananas from Africa and hummus from Turkey.
Kids in the Kitchen for ages 9-13 meets on the second Monday of each month, starting in September, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Teens in the Kitchen for ages 14-18 meets from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month.
West said she can sometimes accommodate siblings, regardless of age, into the same club unless specified otherwise.
The cost for the cooking clubs is $10 for an annual 4-H membership plus $2 for each meeting attended, payable at the meeting.
West said the $10 gets the child a 4-H T-shirt and accident insurance. The additional $2 per meeting covers the costs of food.
West said an archery club for youth who will be age 10 to 18 as of Jan. 1, 2016, will be led by certified coaches Russell Warren, Cindy Lindler and John Hollowell and held at Pomaria Garmany Elementary School.
The club will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on the first Saturday of each month starting in September unless otherwise noted.
“Archery experience and equipment ownership is not necessary,” West said.
West said the archery club is only in its second year and coaches have to be trained through the South Carolina 4-H Shooting Sports rather than through the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, like the archery programs in the schools.
“I saw where the archery in the schools program was headed and really wanted to beat them to the punch and offer this to kids here,” West said. “But this club is for kids on school teams and kids not on school teams. We take them all.”
Currently, West said they are working on planning the first archery competition in the state for 4-H. While 4-H shotgun and air rifle teams are more popular statewide, there are very few archery teams.
“Since we are so centrally located, we figured Newberry would be a good place to hold one,” West said.
The cost to participate is the $10 annual 4-H membership fee, plus a $15 annual archery club membership fee to be paid at the first meeting. There is also a $2 charge per meeting attended.
West said the $10 gets each participant a 4-H T-shirt and accident insurance, while the $15 covers equipment costs. The $2 charge per meeting covers the facility rental fees.
Most of the practices involve shooting from different distances, but they have also made fluflu arrows to shoot at moving aerial targets.
4-H projects
For those wanting to get involved and get their hands dirty, the South Carolina 4-H Wildlife Food Plot Project is open for participants ages 5-18 as of Jan. 1, 2016.
The project is a spin-off of the old S.C. 4-H FACE Project (Food And Cover Establishment for Wildlife) that had been around for nearly 35 years.
Participants must plant a one-eighth acre food plot with given seed. The plot must be maintained and observed with record kept in a record book. The record books are due in January, West said.
The purpose is to educate youth on the proper techniques of food plot establishment to the benefit of game animals and other wildlife species.
The program also teaches life skills that are the core of 4-H such as responsibility, leadership, record keeping, creativity, and becoming stewards of the land.
The cost to participate is the $10 annual 4-H membership fee plus $15 for the project. The $10 will get the child a 4-H T-shirt and accident insurance. The $15 project fee will get them a Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) membership for one year.
More information on this project can be found at www.clemson.edu/extension/county/newberry/programs/4h/foodplotpage.html. Online registration is also available.