Ontario County 4-H: Something for Everyone

Celebrating National 4-H Week October 1st-7th

Fernando Soberon exhibiting his horse at costume class at county fair
Image courtesy of Ontario County 4-H

Are you looking for an opportunity for your children to learn practical life skills, meet lifelong friends, and make a difference in their community? If so, you should look into joining 4-H! For over 100 years, 4-H has been a staple in communities all over the country, providing extra-curricular programming within the framework of their educational philosophy of “Learning by Doing”. In fact, 4-H is the largest youth organization in the United States.

In New York State, 4-H is part of Cornell Cooperative Extension, connecting youth to research-based information through Cornell University. The mission of the New York State 4-H Youth Development program is to connect youth to hands-on learning opportunities that help them grow into competent, caring, contributing members of society.

Luke Pritchard enjoys pancakes he made at 4-H Spark Club

How do you get involved? The typical path to 4-H involvement includes joining a local club. Most of our clubs are led by volunteers within the community. Clubs meet regularly to work on 4-H projects and participate in community service together. 4-H projects include animal science, STEM, food and nutrition, arts and crafts, communications, horticulture, and environmental studies, just to name a few.

What are some clubs that you could join? Currently, Ontario County 4-H is home to 27 different 4-H clubs. A few options for you to join include:

  • Spark Club: For youth that want to explore a variety of project areas
  • Wildlife Habitat Education Program: For youth interested in the outdoors – this clubs goes on frequent field trips to places such as Montezuma Wildlife Preserve, Mueller Field Station, Mendon Ponds, etc.
  • Pet Club: For youth with an interest in indoor pets such as dogs, cats, fish, hamsters, etc.
  • Teen Council: For ages 13+ who want to enjoy team building, leadership, and community service
  • Blue Ribbon Bandits Goat Club: For youth interested in raising and showing dairy, market, or pack goats.
  • Hens and Hares Club: For youth interested in rabbits and poultry
  • Horse Bowl: For your interested in horse care and education. No horse required!
  • Dairy Bowl: For youth interested in dairy cattle. No animal required!
  • Robotics Club: For youth interested in building and programming a robot and competing in FIRST robotics competitions.
  • Horticulture Club: For youth interested in plants and gardening.

In addition to meeting as a club, the county 4-H office also holds educational events throughout the year that are open to all members. These include fun learning events such as our upcoming “Step Into…” workshops; contests such harvest food fest, public presentations, and animal science quiz bowl events; and educational trips such as the capital days trip to Albany or the career explorations trip to Cornell. The 4-H year culminates at the Ontario County Fair where youth show off all their projects and receive ribbons. 

During the first week of October, we will be celebrating National 4-H Week! Be sure to follow our Facebook page (Ontario County 4-H) as we celebrate by sharing more about what our program has to offer. Also during this week, Tractor Supply Co. will be selling paper clovers at all their registers. Purchasing one of these clovers provides a direct donation to our local county program. On October 21st, the public is invited to witness 4-H firsthand at our free 4-H Fall Festival which will be held at 4-H Camp Bristol Hills (4437 Kear Rd, Canandaigua). Enjoy family friendly activities, meet 4-H clubs that you can join, and learn more about summer 4-H camp.

4-H is available to any youth between 5-19 years of age. If you would like to learn more, please do not hesitate to reach out to our 4-H educators, Sarah Wilhelm and Amy Pyra by calling our office at 585-394-3977. We would love for you to consider becoming part of our 4-H family!

Cornell Cooperative Extension is a non-profit educational organization with a mission to extend research-based information from Cornell University to county residents.  CCE puts knowledge to work in pursuit of economic vitality, ecological sustainability, and social well being. County residents with questions related to agriculture, horticulture, water quality, youth development, parenting can call 585-394-3977 any time or visit our website at www.cceontario.org.

“Cornell Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.”

Posted on September 23, 2023 by . This entry was posted in Agriculture, Animals, Astronomy, Beekeeping, Botany, Children, Education, Environmental, Family Fun, Ontario County and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.