- Author: Chris M. Webb
Read below to learn a little about Ventura County Santa Rosa Valley 4-H club. This article was featured in a recent addition of Clover Lines, our 4-H newsletter. This article and others can be found on our website.
by Terri Hargleroad
Santa Rosa Valley club is excited to start a new 4-H year. We are a large and growing club of nearly 100 members. We have projects ranging from cake decorating to pygmy goats to motorcycles to horses.
Our Horse project had a great time at the horse fair and won the barn awards this year. They competed in Western, English and Gymkhana events.
We just returned from the big fair where our members showed their years work in such projects as Photography, Jewelry, Cavies, Lambs, Poultry and much more.
Our quietest meeting of the year was when we had Officer Alvarez from the Ventura County K9 Unit visit us with his dog, Fibi. The kids and adults listened to every word, asked great questions and were allowed to pet Fibi. Fibi did tricks!
We also participate in several community service events throughout the year as a club. We work at Underwood Farms, Operation Gratitude and TOTSOCE. Our kids who are too young to help out with some of the community service help write letters to the troops at Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
We also fill the year with fun activities like potlucks, a Halloween event, an Easter Egg Hunt and a swim party. The end of the year pool party was a blast with swimming,potluck, awards and our send-off to the kids moving on to college.
This year we are adding many more projects - like Fashion Revue, Bicycles, Canning and Interior Design. There are a lot of new skills to learn for each of us.
Happy New 4-H Year. It is going to be great!
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The following Featured Club Happenings was written and submitted by two 10 year old Somis 4-H Club Members, Jorden Harber and Juliette Avalos.
Somis 4-H is a smaller club with only about 30 members; however, it has a lot to offer!
We started off the 4-H year with an ice cream social and by sharing the many awards that were earned at the Ventura County fair!
At our monthly club meetings, the 4-Hers share their experiences in community service, projects, and/or any awards they have earned.
This year, Somis 4-H is offering many animal projects such as Poultry, Lamb, and Swine.
Our club is proud to participate in many community service projects such as Rescue Mission, TOTSOCE, beach clean-ups, and we have our own graffiti task force. This year all of our fall service projects such as the toy and turkey drives will be donated to the Salvation Army.
Some other projects offered this year include cooking, CPR/first aid, coyote calling, hiking and arts and crafts. Some of us will learn to cook a full meal for the first time or test our courage by calling coyotes in the middle of the night.
Somis 4-H has a wonderful variety of projects for all ages and all interests!
Featured Club Happenings are regularly included in our Clover Lines 4-H Newsletter. Additional articles and newsletters can be found here.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The following Featured Club Happenings was submitted by Piru 4-H Club President, Kris Dewey.
It has been a busy year for Piru 4H! Our members have been provided many educational opportunities because we have a fabulous group of project leaders.
- Our geology project has visited the Santa Paula Oil Museum.
- The Cultural Appreciation project attended a Renaissance Fair.
- Our swine group is as big as ever and toured a local butcher shop.
- We have two members in the beef group taking animals to the fair in August.
- The teatime participants have been learning proper etiquette and took turns hosting tea parties.
- Several scrapbooking members took field trips to scrapbooking shops and had a great time learning how to showcase their favorite photos.
- We had a cake decorating group that made wonderful snacks for our general meetings.
- Our fishing group went on camping field trips and had a great time learning how to bait and cast hooks.
- The community service project members participated in TOTSOCE (Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat), made Christmas Baskets and Valentines for U.S. military veterans, and most recently helped sort clothes and other donations and serve lunch at a homeless shelter in Ventura.
- We offered the members and their parents the opportunity to attend a CPR class.
We are planning a year-in-review to celebrate the successes of this year after the Ventura County Fair and wish all of you a great 2010 season!
Featured Club Happenings are a regular feature in Clover Lines, our 4-H newsletter. Back issues of Clover Lines can be found on our website.
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- Author: Chris M. Webb
Ventura County University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) is here to extend science-based research to people in our community. We do this in a variety of ways, one of which is newsletters.
Landscape Notes is written for people working in the commercial landscape industry. The last issue is all about establishing landscape trees. It is full of fabulous, practical information that will help establish healthy trees.
Clover Lines is a newsletter published for 4-H members and leaders in Ventura County. It contains events, activities, and opportunities for youth aged 5-19.
Topics in Subtropics is a combined effort by University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisors from many counties in the state. It emphasizes citrus and avocado, but also discusses the minor subtropicals. The last issue covered:
- Avocado Research in Ventura County
- Laurel Wilt Disease Conference and Tour in Florida and Georgia
- Managing Insecticide Resistance will be Key to the Future of Effective Citrus Pest Management
- Smart Sprayers Make Sense
Farm Water Quality News delivers the latest news on integrating environmental quality with crop production practices. The last issue covered:
- Regulatory Update
- Industry Update
- Technical Tips
- Research Update
UC Cooperative Extension Report is our department newsletter. This newsletter includes upcoming events, highlight summaries of research and outreach activities, interesting facts and more.
Santa Clara River Watershed Times covers topics vital to anyone who lives, works, and recreates in the Santa Clara River watershed, the largest river system in Southern California. An amazing amount of information is extended in this newsletter covering a wide range of issues, opportunities, regulations, and accomplishments in an easy to read format with great photos. Links for more information are scattered throughout.
Our newsletters can be found by clicking this link. Once there, you can read current and back issues. You can also sign up for email notification to let you know when a new issue has been posted.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Every wonder what 4-Her’s do? They are busy for sure! Read the following Featured Club Happening, submitted by Ventura County Loma Vista 4-H member, Kimberly Coverly.
Ask anyone who you encounter for the definition of 4-H and you are bound to get a description of “some club that raises livestock and goes to the fair.” Although this may describe part of what some 4-H Clubs do, this is pretty far from what Loma Vista 4-H Club is like. With projects ranging from archery to easy meals and rabbits to beading, Loma Vista is so much more!
In our club we focus on being well-rounded individuals. We give our members lots of variety to choose from and there is a project for everyone. We try to make our club welcoming.
While everyone fits into a project we focus on unity as well. At every monthly meeting we have a program that is sure to capture every member’s attention. We also recognize monthly birthdays by leading members up to the front of the group and sing happy birthday to them. This really makes the younger members feel very welcomed and special by the other older kids that they look up to. In these ways our club is very different from some other 4-H clubs in VenturaCounty and the state of California.
Now, when someone gives you the definition of 4-H as “some club that raises livestock and goes to the fair”, you can correct them and say, “Not Loma Vista!”
The 4-H Featured Club Happenings began in February of this year. More Featured Club Happenings can be found in our Clover Lines newsletters.
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