4-H members receive Achievement Awards, sign-up for a new season of learning

by Adam Gault

The Essex County 4-H organization held its annual Achievement Awards and registration night at the Essex Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 201) on Monday evening. The event was hosted to recognize the hard work and efforts the numerous 4-H volunteers and members dedicate, as well as pave the way for the future of the organization.

David Unholzer, the acting President for Essex 4-H, explained these awards provide the young members with a sense of achievement and that their contributions to the program have a positive impact on all of their 4-H peers.

“You can just see it, that it makes them proud,” Unholzer said. “They get something out of it. All their hard work shows that they’ve completed and achieved something.”

For more than a century, 4-H Essex has provided local youth with social and agrarian learning experiences, such as a variety of crafts, both practical and artistic, and the many facets of farming, from vegetable cultivation to dairy production and everything in between.

“The 4-H policy is the 4 H’s, so it’s hands, heart, head, and health,” Unholzer explained. “It’s using your hands for bettering the community, and putting your heart and health into the community, making people feel better. And, other things you can do to help the community out.”

One new club offered for 2019 is The Potato Project, which will explore the history, science, cultivation, and marketing of one of the world’s favourite starchy staples. Every meeting will have members try a new potato recipe, and will include a trip to a potato farm.

Also returning for 2019, is the Cloverbuds club, which is activity-based for six to eight-year-olds. Club members will meet once a month and take part in theme-based activities, such as making crafts and simple snacks, as well as visit various Essex County farms.

Many programs still have spaces available, and are always seeking adult volunteers to help with their facilitation.

For more information on Essex 4-H, and for full contact info, visit 4-hontario.ca/4h-in-my-area/essex.aspx