Spring is Coming!

February 1, 2021

Cherokee County 4-H has had a successful fall and winter season as the agent, Laura Haddon, has continued to build relationships with families and schools across the county.  Cherokee County 4-H has two community clubs, Cows and Cookies and Bits and Pieces, that have continued to meet virtually throughout the pandemic.  Youth in both clubs have contributed to their communities during the holidays by collecting non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army and sending individually packaged snacks to Shining Hope Farms Therapeutic Riding.

Three Cherokee County 4-H members participated in the Beef Project this year. The Beef Project participants were Trey, Edie, and Lydia Haddon.  They each spent time feeding and halter breaking a steer and a heifer.  They have been able to observe and participate in the whole process of raising beef for American consumers.

Trey Haddon grooming his heifer for a show. Edie Haddon weighing her steer. Lydia Haddon halter breaking and teaching her steer to walk and stand for a show.

Three more youth completed the South Carolina 4-H Wildlife Food Plot project.  Trent Phillips and Martin and Paisley Ramsey prepared the ground by plowing, taking soil samples, and fertilizing according to the recommendations they received from their soil samples.  They seeded the ground with a mix provided by Wannamaker Seed and then waited for the animals to come!  The three youth recorded their work and wildlife observations in a record book which they submitted online.

Trent Phillips checking on his growing Wildlife Food Plot. Martin and Paisley Ramsey preparing their Wildlife Food Plot.

The partnership between Cherokee County 4-H and the Boys and Girls Club of the Upstate is still going strong.  Laura has continued providing STEM activities for close to 300 youth in seven schools around the county.  Students in this program have learned about the engineering design process and binary code.  Their favorite activity was making “snow” and learning how snow crystals are formed.

Fun with science at Boys and Girls Club. Do you want to build a snowman?

Ninety fifth grade students from three schools in the county have learned about agricultural commodities including cotton, corn, and soybeans.

Toothpicks and marshmallows help teach the Engineering Design Process

They have also explored various careers in agriculture and learned about the important impact of agricultural innovations.  AgMags about these topics have been provided to these classrooms with funding from the Cherokee County Farm Bureau.  Along with a copy of the magazine for each of their students, participating teachers have been provided with the materials and directions to make individual pizzas, DNA sequence bracelets, and bioplastic to accompany each of the AgMag lessons.

While most of our programs are still occurring virtually, plans are in the works for in-person day camps this summer!  Proposed camps include Junior Naturalist/4-H2O Camp hosted at our Duke Energy Outdoor Classroom, Cooking Like a Chef Camp, and Babysitting Basics, just to name a few!

If you would like to find out more about Cherokee County 4-H please contact Laura Haddon at lhaddon@clemson.edu or by phone at (864) 649-8252.