Dawn Stuckey, 4-H Youth Development Agent
Club News:
Spring and summer have been busy months for Hampton County 4-H. Agents and members have been active in our community, from end-of-the-year parties to Watermelon Festival activities. Hampton 4-H Club met at the Smith Farm for awards and fellowship. The Smiths have been very generous with their time, allowing us to meet at their farm several times this year. We want to say a special “Thank You” to Ashlynn and Alton Smith for supporting Hampton County 4-H.
We will see you again in September!
Watermelon Festival Events:
Hampton County held the 82nd Watermelon Festival in June. This event is the highlight of our summer, and we work to make Clemson Extension and Hampton County 4-H a part of it. Children’s Day in the Park is one of our favorite festival events. Because the festival highlights the watermelon crops of our farmers, we try to teach our youngest citizens the benefits of growing their food. This year, Agents Dawn Stuckey and Rogan Gibson helped over 250 youth learn how to grow watermelons. Each child made a small greenhouse to plant watermelon seeds. Once the plant fills the greenhouse, it is ready to plant outdoors. We thank Mr. Dale Ulmer for providing the seeds for this year’s project.
4-H Tractor Driving Contest
Once again, the 4-H Tractor Driving Contest for youth ages 16-18 was part of the festival events. It has been a few years since the last contest, and thanks to Agent Rogan Gibson, it has been returned to the schedule. The contest begins with a safety class, which participants wrap up with a knowledge test. The next portion of the contest involves a walk-around inspection and driving a designated course. The participants with the highest overall scores are declared the. This year’s winners are Aiden Jones, 1st Place; AJ Jarrell, 2nd Place; and CJ Ulmer, 3rd Place. Palmetto State Bank, Murdaugh Kubota, Parker Law Group, Hampton County Farm Bureau, and Brunson Ace Hardware sponsored this year’s contest.
The Watermelon Festival Parade
Parent volunteers organized a 4-H Club float for the Watermelon Festival this year. If you are not familiar with the Watermelon Festival Parade, it is a 2-mile-long parade that begins in Varnville and travels to the other side of Hampton. It takes a few hours to make the journey! There are dozens of floats and participants from many of the groups and organizations that serve the citizens of Hampton County. We are proud of the group that put this together so our members can share their passion for 4-H.
Summer Reading Programs
This summer, Hampton County 4-H partnered with the Hampton and Estill Branches of the Hampton County Library System to share more about how our food gets from seed to table. Both libraries have installed a hydroponics tower to teach patrons more ways to grow food.
Each week, youth participate in a lesson explaining the differences between traditional and hydroponic gardening. Patrons have learned about the importance of soil and completed a soil painting project, learned the parts of plants and the plant life cycle, tasted the parts of plants we eat, simulated the work pollinators do for our gardens and did a little water quality testing to make sure the hydroponic systems were working efficiently.
Hampton 4-H and FCL Club Birding Project
Members of Hampton 4-H and Hampton FCL are working together on a backyard birding project. During the summer, members will complete a journaling workbook of sightings and projects they complete during the summer. The two clubs will meet again when we resume meetings in September to compare notes. This summer, a joint bird feeder project was held to allow participants to work on projects together. The two groups created recycled feeders using paper rolls and drink bottles. It was fun to see the two groups working together.
If you want to learn more about 4-H opportunities in Hampton County, please get in touch with Dawn Stuckey at dstucke@clemson.edu. You can enroll in 4-H by visiting https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/sign-in
Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.
