Got Camp? Agriculture Day Camp!

Following the first week of camp (Cloverbud) Jeannie and I ran the Agriculture Camp.  We began the week learning about horticulture, greenhouses, and direct-marketing at the Green Market, run by Pembroke resident Mr. Ron Holdren.  Ron is a Virginia 4-H All Star, the highest honor a 4-H member can receive.  We had a great time looking around his greenhouses and learning about his business.  Not only does he sell from Pembroke, but he is also a vendor at the Blacksburg Farmers Market.  Ron really made our day when he gave the campers many different types of plants for the campers to pot at the end of the day and take home!

Ron shows campers around his greenhouses

The rest of Agriculture Camp was spent over in Blacksburg visiting several of the agriculture facilities.  Wednesday was spent at the Kentland College Farm.  There Jeannie began lessons on soil, by taking us to a soil pit to learn about soil horizons.  Mr. Dwight Paulette, the farm coordinator, showed us around and gave us a historical tour of Kentland.  At the College Farm there are many different types of research, from silvopasture to crop production.  As a part of our visit, we got to take a look how remote controlled airplanes contribute to agricultural research at Kentland.  Oni, a graduate student, explained to us how the airplanes capture samples from the air that contain fungi, molds, viruses, and bacteria that can contaminate crops.  We even got to practice flying planes in their computer model and watch an actual plane fly!  We finished off our first day at Kentland with yummy "dirt cups."

Campers got to practice their piloting skills with Oni at Kentland

Thursday was my and Jeannie's favorite day, livestock and dairy!  We did a self tour of the livestock and dairy facilities at Virginia Tech.  During the livestock tours, Jeannie taught the campers about different breeds of cattle and horse and how they are shown.  Campers got to a hands-on experience with the equipment used for the animals, including walking through a cattle chute!  From the livestock facilities, we traveled across 460 to the dairy.  Manager Shane Brannock showed us the milking parlor, the milk tank room, and the free-stall barn where the milking cows eat and sleep.  Shane also talked about the silage that the cows eat.  The corn for the silage is grown at Kentland Farms.  Barry, one of the assistant managers, showed us the calf barn and the automatic feeders.  Automatic calf feeders are a newer technology to the dairy industry.  The feeder identifies each calf and mixes up the specific amount of milk-replacer for that individual.  This is great time and calf management tool.

We wrapped up the week by visiting the Farms and Fields project at Kentland.  This time, the raspberries were ready for picking in the demonstration plot, and each of us got our fair share of berries!  We also got to help the farm crew bundle and hang garlic that had recently been picked!

Hailey and Jeannie bundle garlic at Farms and Fields

Agriculture camp was a great opportunity for youth to learn about where their food comes from.  From plants to animals, they were able to see and feel the industry that feeds and clothes us.  By having the students work, by planting or picking, they were able to reap the sweet results of their hard work.  I know they had just as much fun as me and Jeannie; but my true hope is that they came to respect the field of agriculture and continue to be informed consumers and maybe agriculturalists themselves one day.

Youth and Community Involvement

While in the extension office I have had the opportunity to participate in several of the 4-H club activities and other events in the community.  It has been a long time since I was involved in 4-H clubs and community activities so it was great to see what other possibilities there are for 4-H youth.

With extension, I was able to be a part of Pearisburg Festival in the Park several weekends ago.  By attending planning meetings with Cora I was able to network with community members who were not necessarily in agriculture, which I have done by working with Jeannie.  It also gave me insight on how planning for community programs and events works.  There is so much that attendees of events take for granted that goes on behind the scenes.  During the event I help with traffic control during the inaugural 5K for the festival.  I hope that maybe next year I can be around to participate!  During the festival I helped set up and man the booth for the Ag Explorers Club.  I got to meet some of the members and parents, the adult volunteer Kelly, and some cute critters!

My new friend at Pearisburg Festival in the Park

I also tagged along for the Rich Creek June meeting.  Although the turn out was small, it was fun getting to know some of the older 4-H members after my first day with 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp.  Even more exciting for me was that the topic was June is Dairy Month and I was able to talk about my favorite agriculture industry!  Since then, I have done the educational program for the Ag Explorers meeting for July on beef cattle, and will be attending the July Rich Creek meeting tonight.

Another aspect of youth development that I got to participate in was a livestock judging trip to Augusta County.  The 4-H/FFA Livestock judging team got some great live practice at different farms.  I even got to brush up on my own judging skills...which are still in need of some work.

The three little pigs

My classes for graduate school started today, so my time working with extension will be limited.  I am really looking forward to helping with the Newport Agricultural Fair next month!  Newport is Virginia's oldest agricultural fair and will be a fun break from the busy class schedule.

I know my posts have been far and few between, but look out for some posts about 4-H Day Camps soon!

Just Another Learning Experience: 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp

Internships are all about learning and real-life experience while being out of your comfort zone.  While assisting with 4-H Cloverbud Day Camp, I had all of those aspects.  Not having much experience with very young youth I was nervous to work with Camp, even though I was mostly helping supervise instead of facilitating.

Robyn shows the campers chive to pick

For day camp we had ten youth, ages 5-8 for a week.  Each day had a different focus on topics that they have/will study in school and can also be a part of 4-H curriculum.  The first day was about geology where we went to Whitt-Riverbend Park in Pembroke.  There, we went on a trail walk and learned about the different types of rocks and their uses.  Day two was a real treat because we got to tube down the New River at the New River's Edge.  Following that the students learned about watersheds and how runoff and pollution affect water through hands-on models.  Wednesday was my turn to facilitate the activities.  We visited Virginia Tech's Farms and Fields project at Kentland.  Robyn and Alison, farmhands, showed the students around.  Robyn led the students through the demonstration plot where they were able to pick mint, chive, and raspberries, among other things.  Alison finished the tour of the actual plots and then let the students be farmers for a day and plant a row of corn.  In the afternoon we learned about Virginia agriculture through VA agriculture maps.  Even though it stormed something crazy, we didn't let that stop us from making delicious homemade ice cream!  Thursday's topic was on citizenship.  Ken Vittum, the Pearisburg town manager along with a town police officer taught the campers how a town council works and duties of an officer to protect the public.  They had a nice surprise for us and allowed the kids to explore a police car and the town digger!  We wrapped up citizenship day with a little history lesson and GPS exercise by hiking up to Pearis Cemetery.  The week ended with a lesson on financial management after visiting Dismal Falls.

Pearisburg officer and the students with the police car

I'll be honest, day one was a shocker.  A handful of young kids running around is not my normal environment.  After the initial shock, as the week passed my observations helped me to be a better chaperon and facilitator.  The kids grew on me and I gained a better understanding of how they learn and play.  There are still plenty of areas of youth program management that I could really work on.  Effective discipline was and still is the biggest hurdle for me when it comes to young children.  From this week, it did concrete the concept of establishing rules and always enforcing them.  During my facilitation time when I upheld my rules about interrupting, the lesson went better.  I really hope that I can take my experience from Day Camp into the classroom or wherever I may end up.  This opportunity made me further value in experience for education, because the books can only tell you so much.

Keep following for more of my learning and self growth experiences in Giles VCE!