The Sustainable You! Summer Camp is an annual camp that is put on by the Ventura County 4-H Program and the City of Ventura each year in July.  Usually, it is held at the University of California Hansen Agriculture Research and Extension Center (UC HAREC) in Santa Paula.  This year, due to the Stay-At-Home Mandate brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the camp was held virtually via Zoom.  We were the two Teen Helpers for the event.  Here is what we did on each day:

DAY 1 - MONDAY, JULY 20TH

The theme of the first day of camp was Air Day.  The campers answered questions to start off the day after a short icebreaker led by Ashley, otherwise referred to as journal questions.  The kids then discussed their answers and viewpoints. They then learned about our atmosphere. I recall one section, where the kids learned about the sections of the atmosphere. The first layer, the Troposphere, stopping roughly ten miles above ground, is where the weather forms. It holds the layers upon layers of clouds that bring storms of rain, ice, and thunder. Planes fly in the Lower Stratosphere, the second layer, it is near thirty-one miles at it's highest. The Stratosphere holds the Ozone Layer; which blocks UV Rays. The Mesosphere, the third layer, at its tallest point is 42 miles above the earth's surface -average. The Mesosphere protects the earth from objects in space-meteors and asteroids. The Thermosphere is 446 miles above, it absorbs more of the Sun's UV Rays and X-Ray Radiation. The Exosphere is the final layer of all, about 311 miles above the ground.

DAY 2 - TUESDAY, JULY 21ST

The theme of the second day of camp was Land Day.  The day started with another icebreaker led by Ashley and the journaling questions.  Then, the campers learned how to better take care of the land around them, and we watched a video about a waste processing plant that is located right here in Ventura.  After that, the participants were given an assignment to bring back and share the next day.  The instructions for the activity was to head for a walk outside after camp and find as many objects that are on land as possible.  The campers were then going to share their results the following day.

DAY 3 - WEDNESDAY, JULY 22ND

The theme of the third day of camp was Food Day.  The day started with another icebreaker activity led by Ashley and the daily journaling questions.  After that, the campers shared their results from the Hunt & Find Activity from the previous day.  The campers then watched some educational videos to help them learn how to preserve food, along with how to keep food clean (which is an essential skill during the times of the Coronavirus).  Some of the ideas campers learned on this day included what the different types of food are, where their food comes from, what kind of packaging their food comes in, and how to calculate food miles.  The campers really seemed to enjoy this day's activity, as Food Day proved to be their favorite day of camp.

DAY 4 - THURSDAY, JULY 23RD

The theme of the fourth day of camp was Energy Day.  The day started with another icebreaker activity led by Ashley and the daily journaling questions.  After the campers got their lesson on energy, they got to play a fun game called ENERGY BINGO.  Some of the terms related to energy that campers learn included:  oil, natural gas, oil shale, tar sands, coal, nuclear, wood, municipal solid waste, biofuel/biodiesel, solar, hydroelectric, tidal, wave, wind, and geothermal.  This proved to be a very enjoyable activity, as it got quite competitive among the campers!

DAY 5 - FRIDAY, JULY 24TH

The theme of the fifth and final day of camp was Water Day.  The day started with another icebreaker activity led by Ashley and the daily journaling questions.  Although the mood of the day was a bit sad since it was the last day of camp, everyone was still excited for the activities that were about to take place, and for everyone to have fun together one last time.  The campers watched some videos on how to keep the water around them clean.  Then, we watched a live experiment demonstrated by Ms. Stephanie Terry.  She showed us how differently paper products (toilet paper, flushable wipes, tissues, and paper towels) dissolve into water.  From this activity, campers learned that only toilet paper should be flushed down the toilet.

 Although the camp wasn't the same as being held in person, the camp still proved to be very educational and enjoyable in the new virtual format.  It is with high hopes that the Sustainable You! Summer Camp can be held back at the Santa Paula UC HAREC next July, but if we are still under these uncertain times, there will most definitely be a virtual camp.  If you participated in this year's pilot virtual camp, thank you for participating, and we hope to see you next year, virtual or in-person!

Congratulations to the following Ventura County 4-H'ers who participated in California State Field Day 2020! This event was all virtual this year, so we had more participation than ever before! 

Ashley Pyler of Loma Vista 4-H won 3 Golds in the State 4-H Film Festival for her videos "Apple Goodness," "How to Use an Egg Slicer" and "How to Cook Deviled Eggs."  She also won Gold in the State Interview Contest and Platinum in the State 4-H Presentation Day for her speech "Why Music Matters." 

Andrew Pyler of Loma Vista 4-H won Platinum in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark."

Sammy Belik of Conejo-Simi 4-H won Gold in the following contests:

• State 4-H Photography Contest: "A Sweet Pair."
• State 4-H Robotics Contest Level 1
• State 4-H Interview Contest
• State 4-H Film Festival: "The Cannon" and "The Amazing Hard-Boiled Egg Opener Demonstration." 
• State 4-H Presentation Day: "Special Secret Hens Help Us Prevent Disease." 

Adeline Vertucci of Loma Vista 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper. 

Sofia Manzano of Mupu 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "How to Make Slime." 

Olivia Blomquist of Loma Vista 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for her original song "Heaven." 

Alexander Blomquist of Loma Vista 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Presentation Day for "What Makes Jam Jam!"

Courtney Nunes of Santa Rosa Valley 4-H won Gold in the State 4-H Photography Contest for her "Old Barn." 

The California 4-H Mindfulness Retreat

by Claire B., Santa Rosa Valley 4-H

The California 4-H offers a Mindfulness Retreat each year in Cambria at Camp Ocean Pines.  The goal of the retreat for members to develop their health and learn strategies to practice mindfulness.

This three-day retreat had us identify stressors with other 4-H youth in California. It is amazing to see how stressed we were and the commonalities among us all. 

We participated in a variety of activities to reduce stress and learn mindfulness.  We practiced mindful eating, creative outlets of using photographic paper with items from nature to make natural art, made bracelets and in the evening, and an astronomer helped us see another galaxy, which was one of my favorite activities. 

My other favorite was doing yoga on the porch which overlooked a nature preserve and the sea.   

The Mindfulness Retreat allows for bonding and making a lot of 4-H friends throughout California.  It helps our leadership so that we can be a better advocate of healthy living in our community.  Some apps that are useful for Mindfulness are Headspace, Calm, and Dreambox.  

This retreat motivated me to attend Mindful Minutes in Delaware via Zoom while we were under quarantine.  Mindful minutes is based on the GEM Curriculum (Getting Experience in Mindfulness).  Participants had the option to become a Trainer of Trainers and I attended this multi-day Zoom training to better my practice.  During our Covid-19 quarantine and throughout the changes in our state, mindfulness can help you.  

Mindfulness is important so that you reduce stress and anxiety and it can also help in your leadership and in the workplace.  If you have an opportunity to participate in mindful practice, you will see the benefits which will lead to clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service and better living.

2019 Ventura County Fair

Junior Showmanship

Congrats, 4-H'ers!

Division 953 - Jr - 4-H Novice Showmanship

Class 5 Market Goat

Curren Thompson 1

Somis Kaylee Tan 2 Simi Valley

Emma Johnston 3 Camarillo

Madison Walter 4 Taft

Kassie Hatcher 5 Taft

Grace Cobb 6 Somis

Francisco Zamora Jr. 7 Santa Paula

Sammy Belik 8 Simi Valley

Payton Holliday 9 Moorpark

Tyler Nowak 10 Somis

Class 6 - Market Lamb

Jayleen Arballo 1 Santa Paula

Joann Christensen 2 Santa Paula

Clarissa Barrera 3 Fillmore

Lexi Freehauf 4 Santa Paula A

dler Striegel 5 Ventura

Rafe Pidduck 6 Ventura

Samuel Knight 7 Camarillo

Peter Daly 8 Santa Paula

Laird Pidduck 9 Ventura

Class 7 - Market Steer

Juan F. Jimenez 1 Somis

Hailey Rotondo 2 Ventura

Nathan Kearney 3 Oxnard

Class 8 - Market Swine

Matthew Zavala 1 Fillmore

Alani McKeen 2 Fillmore

Miguel Rincon 3 Fillmore

Jessika Aguilar 4 Fillmore

Sarah Cedillos 5 Fillmore

Angel Gonzalez 6 Somis

Ciera Cervantes 7 Fillmore

Olivia Nava 8 Fillmore 

Division 954 -Jr - 4-H Junior Showmanship

Class 2 - Dairy Goat

Belle Duong 1 Valley Center

Samanatha Wolf 2 Simi Valley

Madeline Lockmann 3 Agoura Hills

Class 3 - Breeding Sheep

Breonna Alvarez 1 Santa Paula

Class 4 - Breeding Swine

Anahi Arballo 1 Santa Paula

Class 5 - Market Goat

Brett Bowman 1 Camarillo

Skyler Knight 2 Ventura

Courtney Nunes 3 Camarillo

Curren Thompson 4 Somis

Elle Anger 5 Somis

Madison Geisler 6 Somis

Mckenzie Waters 7 Moorpark

Julia May 8 Moorpark

Annalise Barragan 9 Fillmore

Antoinette Rios 10 Camarillo

Class 6 - Market Lamb

Jayleen Arballo 1 Santa Paula

Breonna Alvarez 2 Santa Paula

Scarlett James 3 Somis

Lainah Hill 4 Camarillo

Grace Hoolmaa 5 Somis

Clara Knight 6 Camarillo

Chloe Casas 7 Santa Paula

Diana Zizumbo 8 Santa Paula

Therese Hattrup 9 Fillmore

Preslee Jenkins 10 Santa Paula

Class 7 - Market Steer

Kasen Lynch 1 Somis

Billie Yanez 2 Somis

Rocco Dantona 3 Simi Valley

Sally R McCormick 4 Camarillo

Ralph Theising 5 Simi Valley

Juan F. Jimenez 6 Somis

Dean West 7 Ventura

Isabella Jimenez 8 Ojai

Allie May Scheu 9 Moorpark

Class 8 - Market Swine

Raeleen Pillado 1 Piru

Matthew Zavala 2 Fillmore

Adrian Vazquez 3 Fillmore

Leea Martinez 4 Santa Paula

Skylar Rutherford 5 Ojai

Kayla Cervantez 6 Fillmore

Carissa Cervantes Carrillo 7 Camarillo

Bodie Mays 8 Camarillo

Class 9 - Wether Dam doe

Ethan Lopez 1 Santa Paula

Division 955 - Jr - 4-H Senior Showmanship

Class 1 - Breeding Heifer

Kaitlyn Prado 1 Santa Paula

Jessica Jimenez 2 Ojai

Class 2 - Dairy Goat

Belle Duong 1 Valley Center

Anna Sorensen 2 Simi Valley

Class 3 - Breeding Sheep

Kaitlyn Prado 1 Santa Paula

Class 4 - Breeding Swine

Travis Smith 1 Thousand Oaks

Anna Enos 2 Camarillo

Class 5 - Market Goat

Brooke Allen 1 Fillmore

Brett Bowman 2 Camarillo

Julia Cook 3 Simi Valley

Michael Olvera 4 Fillmore

Class 6 - Market Lamb

Sam Hoyt 1 Oak View

Kaitlyn Prado 2 Santa Paula

Iliana Marquez 3 Santa Paula T

yler Hook 4 Somis

Robert Hebert 5 Simi Valley

Zane Marklein 6 Ventura

Katie Hendren 7 Santa Paula

Rachel A Byrne 8 Simi Valley

Class 7 - Market Steer

Travis Smith 1 Thousand Oaks

Jadyn Pinneo 2 Moorpark

Astrid D'alton 3 Ventura

Parker Lynch 4 Somis

Kasen Lynch 5 Somis

Chance Bowman 6 Ojai

Leanna Kearney 7 Oxnard

Adrienne Kearney 8 Oxnard

Class 8 - Market Swine

Raeleen Pillado 1 Piru

Phillip Cervantez 2 Fillmore

Ashley Payne 3 Ventura

Adam Zavala 4 Fillmore

Charlotte Peters 5 Ojai

Julissa Montes 6 Fillmore

Cayden T. Ewing 7 Ventura

Devin Cullinane 8 Camarillo

Class 9 - Wether Dam Doe

Brooke Allen 1 Fillmore