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Talk to any 4-H Youth Agent in Colorado about enrollment trends and he or she will tell you that the numbers have been growing during the past few years. Some of this increase is because agents and volunteers are committed to expanding 4-H programs to include many more enrichment opportunities for schools as well as growth in 4-H sponsored after-school programs.
But the big boom in the traditional 4-H club program has been in small clubs started by home school families. "They have discovered us," says Stephanie Morsch, 4-H youth Agent in Arapahoe County, referring to home school families, "and we are delighted." "Many of our new families join 4-H to give their children opportunities to meet and socialize with other children. Then they discover the incredible depth of the project materials." Projects are a way for youth to learn about a new interest or skill, like photography or cake decorating, and do related activities. In addition to project specific skills, members have the opportunity to learn and practice record keeping, public speaking, leadership and decision-making skills.
Older youth and caring adults involved in the 4-H program are often looked up to as role models and mentors by youth in the program. Having positive family communications and having a positive relationship with three or more non-parent adults has been identified by the Search Institute as ways for youth to feel supported as they grow and develop.
Parents involved in 4-H youth activities also learn by doing. Parents learn project and communication skills right along with the youth as they watch, participate, teach a lesson or organize a related activity.
This year, 17,500 youth, ages 8 to 18, are enrolled in the traditional 4-H club programs in Colorado and more than 68,000 youth will take part in the outreach programs. 4-H is part of Colorado State University Extension and all 4-H projects follow a university-developed curriculum.
And 4-H is just one way for people to tap into the resources at Extension, which has local offices in most counties in Colorado. "Families and individuals who discover Extension for the first time often say we're the best kept secret in Colorado," says Dan Einarsen, Natural Resources and Agriculture Agent in Arapahoe County.
In the past people may have learned about their local Extension office by talking to a neighbor or picking up a brochure or fact sheet at the library or public meeting. Today, people are most likely to learn about Extension by reading a news article, or discovering the Web site while surfing on-line. The Colorado State Extension site, www.ext.colostate.edu, offers Fact Sheets on
topics from gardening and canning to parenting, food safety and consumer
fraud. Answer Link, a new service of Extension, provides an
easy way to ask a specific question and receive an email response. And
Planttalk ColoradoÔ , a service of Extension, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Green Industries of Colorado, provides advice on more than 400 horticulture topics at www.planttalk.org.
If people get the information they need from a Extension Web site they may never contact their local office. If, on the other hand, they need more information or want to customize the information for themselves, they call, and the relationship and discovery begins. Extension helps put the information they just read, on-line or from the media, into context.
Extension can also make connections with any department on the Colorado State University campus to find more detailed information on a subject of importance. And if the information is not available from Colorado State, the agents can connect with colleagues at Land Grant College and Universities throughout the United States. Extension serves as a link between people and the ever-changing discoveries in the laboratories.
Whether the subject is nutrition, food safety, parenting, money management, lawn care, or cattle production, Extension agents can answer questions, recommend Web sites, mail Fact Sheets or deliver a hands-on workshop. When people understand issues and have the latest research, they are better able to make the best decisions for themselves and act in the best interest of society. Adults and children alike seem to learn best when they can see it, hear it, smell it, taste it and touch it, and that's what Extension can help deliver. |
