- 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
Did you know that the Ventura County UCCE office has an advisor that works with local commercial fishermen? Her name is Carrie Culver, and she would like you to know our area is one of the top producing regions on the west coast!
The Santa Barbara Channel includes three ports in Ventura County and one in Santa Barbara County. The region is defined here as the ocean waters south of Point Conception to just south of Point Mugu, as well as the waters surrounding the four northern Channel Islands. This region is a unique place for California fisheries because it is the transition zone where both southern and northern species occur and there are natural conditions that typically provide an abundance of food for the fish.
So what are the top species caught by our local commercial fishermen? Halibut, rockfish, tuna, white seabass, squid, lobster, crab, sea urchin, and shrimp top the list. In addition abalone, oysters and mussels are locally farmed or cultured.
Research shows that including seafood in our diet is good for our health. If you enjoy eating seafood, please do what you can to support local fishermen by visiting fishermen’s market, or ask for it at stores and restaurants.
Great recipes, storage and handling information and much more can be found at these sites.
http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/consumer.html
Additional information about local fisheries, including availability, can be found in our Fish on Your Dish publication. Written by kids and for kids, there is much inside for all of us to learn.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The Pollinator Partnership, which includes the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, the National Gardening Association and the USDA has put together a great online curriculum titled Nature’s Partners: Pollinators, Plants, and You. The curriculum can be found at http://www.pollinator.org/curriculum/index.php.
The education materials are designed for children in grades 3-6; however, I imagine most of us can learn a great deal from the website. The background information contained in each module is written for educators. Adults interested in learning about pollinators themselves will find a wealth of knowledge for the taking!
In addition to the great educational information, the site has fabulous photos, instructions for a wide variety of activities, ideas for community service projects, links for further information, and much more.
- 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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