4-H News:

Wisconsin Club Leader New Voice of 4-H Volunteers

Chevy Chase, MD—Gloria Lukes, a 4-H volunteer leader from Merrill, Wis., has been selected as the next volunteer leader representative to the National 4-H Leadership Trust. Formed in 2001, the Trust is the unified voice and shared leadership body for the 4-H movement. Lukes will represent 4-H’s nearly 700,000 youth and adult volunteers.

With more than 20 twenty years of involvement in the 4-H program, Luke’s experience spans the club, county, state and national levels. Lukes was nominated for the two-year position with the Trust by her state 4-H Leader, Gregory Hutchins. “Gloria’s many 4-H leadership experiences have given her a broad perspective on the 4-H movement,” Hutchins said. “She was an early advocate of youth adult partnerships in Wisconsin, and was instrumental in leading her County 4-H Leaders Association to grant equal representation for young people on their association board, long before the broader movement began across the state.”

Lukes was selected from a pool of applicants with extensive service to 4-H in a variety of capacities. In addition to representing 4-H volunteers during the monthly conference calls and quarterly meetings of the Trust, Lukes also will share the Trust’s work to support volunteers at regional leader forums and on the national Web site for 4-H volunteers, 4-H Volunteers USA (www.4hvolunteers.org).

4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. With more than seven million young people throughout America, 4-H has grown to encompass youth from urban cities to rural towns. The Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development Program is part of University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension. To learn more about 4-H, visit www.4husa.org.
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4-H Teen Wins 2005 President’s Environmental Youth Award

Kacy Hermans, 4-H member from Midland, Mich., receives her award from President Bush.

A relatively simple but cutting-edge environmental technology known as a “rain garden” became a labor of love for high school senior Kacy Hermans of Midland, Mich. Starting as a 4-H project, the rain garden idea blossomed under Kacy, becoming a full-blown environmental demonstration that will educate thousands of people who visit the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland every year.

Selected as one of the top 10 annual President’s Environmental Youth Awards, 18-year-old Kacy always has been involved in environmental stewardship projects since she first joined 4-H. The rain garden she created is the first in her area. “It took a few months to get the gardens completed and operational. I never thought it would go as far as it did. One day I was going to school, and the next day I was meeting the most powerful man in the world,” Kacy said.

Environmentalists from around the country are beginning to experiment with rain gardens, which in their simplest form are plots of soil planted with native vegetation that absorb storm water runoff from manmade structures. Some large urban areas have planted rain gardens as a way to limit sewer overflows caused by excess runoff after heavy rains and to modify the urban heat island effect. Kacy, a senior at H.H. Dow High School, proved that rain gardens can help the environment anywhere buildings interrupt the natural flow of rainwater.

Searching for ideas for a 4-H project, Kacy was led to the Chippewa Nature Center, where a 1960s–style, flat-roofed building served as the visitor area. All storm water from the expansive roof and parking lot flushed directly into the nearby Pine River. Nature center officials were concerned about the runoff because the water was warm and raised the river temperature, depleting oxygen. When Kacy sought a place to build a rain garden, the Chippewa Nature Center readily volunteered.

Kacy marshaled local donations of money, labor, equipment and supplies. Local landscaping and excavating companies supported the ground work because they wanted to learn about the rain garden to serve their customers. First, they dug a 20- by 10-foot plot, three feet deep, along the sidewalk that leads to the visitor’s center, then filled it with a mix of sand, topsoil and compost. Then, they planted with Michigan wild flowers and plants such as Joe Pye weed, swamp milkweed and strawberries. Finally, they dug a rock-lined trench from the building’s downspout to the garden and installed glass sidewalk panels so that visitors could view the water flow from above.

In addition to cooling the runoff from the roof, the rain garden filters out pollutants and percolates water into groundwater. Kacy’s rain garden has become a centerpiece of the nature center’s environmental education. Visitors learn about the concept and shown how they can set up simple rain gardens at home. To find out more about the award and the awardees, visit: http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/peya2005.html.
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Watch Don Floyd's Speech From National AfterSchool Association Conference

Don Floyd speaks at the 2006 National AfterSchool Association Conference.

National 4-H Council President and CEO Don Floyd addressed conference participants at the National AfterSchool Association's 2006 Conference in February. See his speech on the importance of after-school programming in today's world by clicking here and downloading a version of the video clip.
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Time is Ticking to Take the National 4-H Technology Survey!

The deadline for taking the National 4-H Technology Survey has been extended to May 14, 2006.

National 4-H Council and National 4-H Headquarters want to know what you think about technology and how you use technology in 4-H. Your ideas and opinions will help the national leadership of 4-H to improve the technology resources that they provide to the 4-H community. It’s your chance to speak up and tell National 4-H Headquarters and National 4-H Council what you're looking for!

The survey is open to 4-H members of all ages, including youth, volunteers, and staff! The results will help National 4-H Council and National 4-H Headquarters to make critical decisions about their future use of technology to enhance the 4-H experience.

Complete your survey today! Then, pass on this message to others so others in 4-H can participate, especially youth in the 4-H community. Encourage as many people as you know to take it. The survey will end at midnight, May 14, 2006, so take it TODAY!

www.4-Hsurvey.org

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It’s Time for 4-H Camp!

It’s that time of the year to start deciding where to send your kids for an amazing camp experience. 4-H camp in America today offers many different opportunities. Contact the 4-H Extension office in your community to find out about options near you. Check out www.4husa.org and 4hmediaresources.org for more information about 4-H camps across America. Here are a few other opportunities to think about as well:

• Maine 4-H Camp: Tanglewood 4-H Camp and Learning Center, a program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, proudly announces its 25th summer camp this year. Tanglewood offers day camp, residential camp, leadership programs and Discovery Trip outdoor adventures for youth ages 6-17. All programs are designed to be affordable, safe and fun. The camp is located in mid-coast Maine with two campuses in Lincolnville on the Ducktrap River and in Blueberry Cove on Tenants Harbor. Visit www.tanglewood4h.org for more information. Don't miss out on a summer of fun in mid-coast Maine!

• Kansas 4-H Camp: The Kansas 4-H Photography Action Team invites 4-Hers from around the country to this outstanding photography learning experience, the eleventh annual Kansas 4-H Photography Adventure Camp. The session will be June 7-9 at Rock Springs 4-H Center, near Junction City Kansas. Photo Adventure Camp is an intense yet fun photography experience for youth, ages 13-16. To see photos from the 2005 Photo Adventure Camp, visit www.4hmediaresources.org, click on the photo library and type in key words “camp” or “photography.” For more information, visit the Kansas website or contact 4-H leader Rod Buchele.
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New Surprises at 4hmrediaresources.org

Read here about the new stuff in store for you:

• Trying to appeal to Spanish-speaking audiences in 4-H? Click here and scroll down to access the 4-H message in Spanish (en Español). There are other Spanish resources on the site and more to come in the future.

• Join the ranks of the famous ... Join 4-H! What do Al Gore, Faith Hill and David Letterman have in common? They were all 4-H'ers...

Click here and scroll down for the rest of this strong article about 4-H today that you can customize to your own local area to use to recruit more members. Thanks to Sara West, a 4-H Youth Development agent in North Carolina, for sharing her work that appeared in the “Charlotte Observer” a few weeks ago!

• More than 70 4-H clubs are training 800 dogs in a unique partnership with The Seeing Eye—an organization that enhances the independence of blind people. Consistent with the 4-H tradition of youth leadership, the youth, not their parents, are responsible for the dogs. Check out this story here to learn more.
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• Looking for PSA’s for local radio stations? Click here and scroll down for new PSA’s available for use and customizable to your area. Let us know if you have certain PSA’s you would like to see offered or ideas for more resources you would like to see. Visit the website for contact information.
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My Wonderful World Campaign Launches to Help Boost Kids’ Global IQ

WASHINGTON, DC—National Geographic and leaders from the business, nonprofit and education communities Tuesday unveiled a public-engagement campaign designed to give U.S. students tools to become more informed global citizens. The goal of the five-year, multimedia campaign — My Wonderful World — is to improve the geographic literacy of young people ages 8-17 by motivating parents and educators to expand geographic offerings in school, at home and in their communities.

Coalition partners include 4-H, American Federation of Teachers, Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, Asia Society, Association of American Geographers, Budget Rent-A-Car, Committee for Economic Development, Council on Competitiveness, ESRI, GLOBE Program, iEARN-USA (International Education and Resource Network), Lindblad Expeditions, NBA Cares, National Council for Geographic Education, National Council of La Raza, National Council for the Social Studies, National PTA, Sesame Workshop, Smithsonian Institution, United Nations Foundation and the World Affairs Councils of America.

A rich Web site at the heart of the campaign, MyWonderfulWorld.org, provides resources for parents to help kids be more geo-savvy. It includes suggestions for simple, outdoor family activities and ways that parents can work to get more geography into the classroom, links to geography games and online adventures for kids and teens, classroom materials for educators, and ways for young and old to test their global IQs. The site also provides tools for communicating to policymakers and education leaders the importance of geographic literacy.

A new geographic literacy study released today by the National Geographic Society and Roper Public Affairs provides alarming new evidence that American youth aged 18-24, those who most recently left the education system, still display a disturbing lack of basic geographic knowledge about the world they will inherit:

• Fewer than three in 10 think it is absolutely necessary to know where countries in the news are located.
• Even with near-constant news coverage since the war in Iraq started in March 2003, six in 10 cannot find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.
• While outsourcing of jobs to India has been a major U.S. business story, almost half those surveyed (47 percent) cannot find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.
• Although the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has been in the news for the respondents’ entire lives, 75 percent cannot locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.
• More than half significantly over-estimate the population of the United States.
• Nearly three-quarters incorrectly select English as the most widely spoken native tongue (it’s Mandarin Chinese).
• Two-thirds don’t know that the catastrophic earthquake of October 2005 that killed 70,000 people struck in Pakistan.

The coalition also is appealing to parents, caregivers, educators and students with an outreach program that includes a public-service advertising campaign, promotional events, grassroots activities, e-mail campaigns and a one-hour special on geography, “Geo-Challenge,” airing 8 p.m. ET/PT Thursday, May 4, on the National Geographic Channel. “Geo-Challenge” showcases the most compelling geographic stories of our time in an interactive question-and-answer quiz that challenges and tests viewer knowledge of the world from topics ranging from nature to science to history.
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Calling All 4-H Members to Make a Difference

We know you are all experts; let’s show America how great you all are! Make A Difference Day is a positive opportunity for 4-Hers to get out there and lend their Hands in service this October 28, 2006. With its simple mission of caring for someone other than yourself for a day, an estimated 20 million people are helped by three million others on this largest day of service in the United States. USA WEEKEND Magazine created the annual event that is open to everybody.
Click on the website to get ideas for projects you can prepare to do this coming October: http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/honorees/2006/060423intro_ca.html
4-H members are encouraged to put the pledge to use by pledging their hands to larger service and being active in their clubs, communities, county, and world. It is a chance for youth to develop a sense of pride and ownership for the community in which they live while doing 4-H community service projects and working together with youth and adults in the name of others. Come on 4-H, let’s show them what we’ve got!
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4-H Volunteers to Build Playgound

ATLANTA, GA – Call it an extreme makeover of the playful kind. On May 16, 2006, more than 200 volunteers from Georgia 4-H, the National 4-H Headquarters at USDA, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and the local community will join organizers from KaBOOM! to construct a state-of-the-art new playground at the Southeast Outdoor YMCA during a one-day large-scale construction event. Work will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate completion of the new play area.

The 2,000 sq. ft. playground will feature brightly colored swings, climbers and panels for the 300 children involved in YMCA activities who currently have no place to play. The playground design was chosen based on input from the children who drew their dream playgrounds for planners at a Design Day in March.

Georgia 4-H, the National 4-H Headquarters at USDA and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension are providing both financial and volunteer resources for the project. More than 125 people from these organizations are expected to volunteer for the one-day build.

After the one-day construction “blitz,” the colorful new playground will stand where currently there is no safe place for children to play. In addition, volunteers will beautify the surrounding area by building benches, installing shade structures, constructing an outdoor classroom, and planting a new garden.

The playground build will incorporate the professional guidance of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. “Play is vital to healthy development in children and playgrounds are an integral part of the fabric of our communities,” said Darell Hammond, CEO and co-founder, KaBOOM!.

“Georgia 4-H, the National 4-H Headquarters at USDA, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and Southeast Outdoor YMCA are setting a great example by working together to give children a great place to play. In this case, the process—working together to plan and build the new playground—is as important as the product—the playground itself.”
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4-H Youth Educators and Emergency Management Staff Join Forces

Hurricanes Rita and Katrina and recent tornados, floods and wild fires, have raised youth’s concerns about their community's readiness to respond to emergency situations. 4-H youth want to learn how to become part of the solution to make a real difference in the readiness of their own community’s preparedness for disaster. Youth want to learn how to engage decision makers to create youth-adult partnerships to empower their community to strengthen their community readiness. They want to combine youth in governance, community service and community readiness.

Local 4-H Youth educators and Emergency Management staff are joining forces and stepping up to the plate to improve community readiness for disasters. The 4-H Community Readiness Network (CRN) Team is a multi-state 4-H Youth Development program working to educate our youth and their adult leaders to improve emergency preparedness within local communities. The CRN has developed into a national network of state and local youth educators and emergency management staff working to improve community readiness for emergency by sharing information and learning resources. Nevada and Oregon are providing leadership for the community readiness network. Monthly, more states are joining the Community Readiness Network.

The group needs your input and participation. Submit learning resources and information about work in your state/county related to emergency preparedness. This information will be shared at the 2006 National 4-H Youth Technology Leadership Conference and available for colleagues to learn and share what is being done across the nation in 4-H youth development in support of emergency preparedness. Following the national conference, the information will be available through the Community Readiness Web site. Examples provided before May 30 can be given visibility during the national 4-H Science and Technology conference in July 2006. Good examples for sharing through the on-line collection will be accepted continuously.

Please submit the following:
1. Brief program description, including:
-title (150 characters)
-summary description (500 characters)
2. Contact information about your program organizers
3. Please check and attach any of the following resources that you would like included:
-Website
-PowerPoint Presentations
-Photos
-Publications
-Other

For more information visit http://www.crn.mystateusa.com. Submit to Susan Emmons, Technology Administration Assistant, University of Nevada; emmonss@unce.unr.edu, 775 423-5121. Call if you have any questions.
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National 4-H Council Marketing visits Iowa

National 4-H Council Director of Marketing Communications Gwyn Donohue (4th from left), here with (L-R) Iowa 4-H Foundation Executive Director Joe Leisz, Iowa State University County Extension Education Director--Audubon County Mary Ottman, Iowa 4-H State Director Dr. Chuck Morris, and 4-H Youth Development Specialist Gail Castillo, recently visited with Iowa 4-H staff to talk about market research and system outreach efforts currently underway at Council in order to strengthen the 4-H brand.

The marketing communications team supports the 4-H system with workshops, presentations and customizable tools designed to help 4-H staff successfully promote 4-H in their local communities. To find out more, contact: info@fourhcouncil.edu. Feel free to contact us for support.
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Resources and Opportunities:

Online Distance Learning Opportunity

Earn your master’s degree or two graduate certificates through a distance (online) learning opportunity. The program is a collaboration among several universities in the Midwest and Great Plains to study youth development. It focuses on building and maintaining strengths among youth. Many of the current participants have a background in 4-H and have found it beneficial. For more details visit: http://cehs.unl.edu/fcs/grad/youthDev.shtml.
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2006 Home Baking Association Educator Award

Do you teach baking in a classroom or community program? You may be eligible to WIN $1,000! Classroom and community organization educators are invited to submit entries. Youth who have developed baking programs that teach other youth to bake also are invited to submit an entry and are eligible for the award and trip to the 2006 Home Baking Association Annual Meeting. Entry deadline is May 15, 2006. For more information visit: www.homebaking.org or call the Home Baking Association at 785-478-3283.
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4-H Clubs Eligible for Grant

4imprint is at it again, donating $500 per day, every day, with their new one-by-one corporate giving program. Every local 4-H chapter is eligible to apply for this grant. Any questions, visit onebyone.4imprint.com/default.aspx.
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Out of School Resources Available

Harvard Family Research Project is offering two new resources discussing out-of-school time. Find out what kids are up to by clicking here and here.
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Free Hands-on Science Activities

Write to fetchnews@wgbh.org by May 15 to get your FREE set of FETCH! resources based on the new PBS TV show. Learn more by going to pbskidsgo.org/fetch.
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Social Skill Resources Available

The "Cool Kind Kid" Camp Kit TM is a fun way for kids ages 7-9 to acquire the social skills that they need to get along with people. The materials are an effective means of helping kids understand that "Kind" is "Cool" and "Cool" is "Kind," and that the "Kind" kid is the "Cool" kid, not the bully. Visit www.tannersmanners.com to see sample activities and listen to song clips.
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Create a Magazine Ad and Win a Prize

“Teen People” and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy are teaming up for our seventh-annual contest to design the best public service announcement. The assignment: Create a magazine ad with a snappy slogan and an eye-catching image that will help spread the message of teen-pregnancy prevention. The purpose of the contest is not only to encourage young people to stop and think about the consequences of teen pregnancy but also to promote teen’s messages to one another about pregnancy prevention. The winning design will appear in “Teen People” and be seen nationwide. View more details, official rules and eligibility requirements here.
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Free Educational Materials Available

Horse Facts, a public education program, promotes understanding, respect and support for the vital role that humane and responsible animal research plays in advancing equine health and medicine. Biomedical research involving lab animals advances veterinary medicine as well as human medicine. Horse Facts seeks to increase awareness of the importance of biomedical research for all animals, especially horses. For free barn posters and trading cards, click here.
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Science Class Challenge

The CAPCO Science Class Challenge is a classroom contest for grades 4-9. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students and teachers to learn about the Earth's protective upper ozone layer, CFCs, and the environment by using provided activities or their own creative methods. If you are a full-time United States teacher employed by a public or private school or a home school educator teaching within grades 4-9 and can spend 20 minutes of class time teaching students about the Earth's ozone layer, click here to learn more! Deadline for entry is May 8, 2006.
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Neighborhood Day Film Contest

K-12 students as individuals, groups or through classroom projects are especially invited to participate in the National Neighborhood Day Short Film Contest. There is no entry fee for the Youth Category and the Grand Prize is $2000. The deadline for entries is June 15, 2006. Click here for contest rules and entry forms and to download a poster with further information.
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Special Olympics Needs Volunteers

The Special Olympics National Games will be hosted by Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, July 1-8, 2006. Volunteers are needed to make these games a success. Volunteer jobs vary from assisting at sport venues to escorting VIPs to guarding barricades. 4-H clubs are encouraged to volunteer as a community service experience. We already have a few signed up! If your club or county 4-H council would like to volunteer as a group, contact Ardie Roehr for a “group number” that your members can use when registering to volunteer. Organizers would like to have most volunteers registered by May 1 to begin scheduling so don’t delay! Volunteers will receive a complimentary t-shirt and credential; housing is available for volunteers for $25 per room per night. Help show the nation what a wonderful state Iowa is! Visit the website to volunteer or call 515-294-3407
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Teaching Moments

Busy parents want to raise happy, caring and responsible children. Teaching Moments are life-skills ideas for busy parents. Each idea is designed to help children learn how to take more responsibility for their homework, their education and their life. Check out the latest available tips.
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