Few activities enable youth to visit the home of the Kentucky Derby, but the Massachusetts 4-H Horse Program does! For many years, youth have enjoyed the trip to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup held at the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center.

Sixteen senior 4-Hers embarked on this four-day trip to compete in contests including Communications, Hippology, Horse Judging, and Horse Bowl. The four teams consist of youth who may show horses competitively and all are members of 4-H horse clubs in Massachusetts. This year, the members of the Massachusetts 4-H Horse Communications Team distinguished themselves with a first-place finish in the competition. The Horse Bowl, Hippology, and Horse Judging teams all competed well in their respective categories. All participants sharpened their leadership skills in problem solving and teamwork while improving their written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Darlene Welch, the winning Horse Communications team’s coach and a former Foundation Trustee, believes the trip is incredibly valuable for 4-Hers. While in Louisville, the youth visit Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby Museum, Kentucky Horse Park, and Claiborne Farm, the final resting place of the famed horse, Secretariat. “They get a chance to travel to a part of the United States rich in horse history,” said Darlene.

This competition puts many of the skills that youth learn through 4-H into action. The Communications team start their preparation for the competition in the spring, practicing for four to five months. Though they begin their quest at the county level, their presentations may evolve as they move from local to state to national competitions.

Their leadership and teamwork skills are put into practice as they compete in three divisions of the Horse Communications contest: Public Speaking, Individual, and Team (two participants). Each contestant or team is assigned a specific timeslot. Public speaking participants talk for up to ten minutes, individuals speak for up to 12 minutes, and teams talk for up to 15 minutes. Entrants are penalized if they go over the time limits.

Following the presentation, the contestants take questions from judges. “Questions can hurt a team if they don’t know their subject really well,” explained Darlene. Selecting a speech topic can be tricky; it must be age appropriate. “The most challenging part is that the process is subjective, the judges may or may not like the topic,” said Darlene.

Susan Barrows, who competed in the 2022 Team Presentation, found the competition challenging for two reasons. “It’s definitely a lot of teamwork, having to speak at the same level of enthusiasm and volume,” she said. She also noted that each team member is required to talk for the same amount of time, including during the question segment.

Susan shared that visiting Louisville has been rewarding. “The biggest benefit is the experience. I have met some of my best friends on this trip, and I enjoy meeting people who share my interests. The experience is incredible and teaches us things that we cannot learn here.”

Do you really know where your food comes from?

You may know something about the subject, but most likely not nearly as much as Hope Healy and Owen Weigel, 4-Hers who initiated the Lots to Plots project. Because of their efforts, the teens were recognized by the National 4-H Council earlier this year and awarded a $2,000 grant to combat food deserts in Massachusetts and provide an “on-ramp to agriculture” for teens.

“Their hard work paid off,” said Meghan Riley, a 4-H Educator in Plymouth County who has mentored the teens. “As far as keeping teens as active and engaged as possible, this project hit the nail on the head.”

During the pandemic and the 2020-21 school year, Hope and Owen, along with Sofia Black, Faith Motta, and Hope Motta, decided to address Massachusetts’ growing problem of food insecurity, which impacts 40% of the state’s population. They believed that gardening could not only be a valuable way to address this issue but also become a “bridge” between urban and rural settings. In other words, they could engage teens in agriculture — even those in urban settings —through their project, Lots to Plots.

The teens started brainstorming project ideas while meeting virtually. They noted that lower-income households have less access to healthy food than affluent families, and that they could adapt agricultural practices on a small scale for teens. Lots to Plots was born. “We’re going to put plants in their hands… You live in New York City? You can still have plants,” explained Hope.

An important step along the way: Hope and Owen attended the National 4-H Youth Summit for Agriscience (or “Ag Summit”) in Bethesda, Maryland in March 2022, assisted with support from the Massachusetts 4-H Foundation. Owen, from Rochester, and Hope, from Plymouth, both now juniors in high school, met youth and experts from all over the country at the conference. They took workshops led by industry leaders and managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing, touring Washington D.C. monuments at night.

Owen, who lives on a farm where his family raises beef and poultry, had never visited an urban area before. He met teens from New Jersey who wanted to garden but didn’t have enough land or money, reinforcing the importance of Lots to Plots. Owen found learning about other teens’ experiences and building a network to be the most valuable parts of the Summit.

Hope shared Owen’s enthusiasm. “The Ag Summit was incredible… Learning about the ag career exploration was most valuable to me. Hearing from experts, especially the female speakers, and where they’ve gone in their ag careers was really cool to me.”

The teens then submitted a two-page project proposal to the National 4-H Council for a solution to an agricultural issue, and following its approval delivered a presentation via Zoom to industry leaders in late April. Their efforts resulted in a $2,000 grant, one of 12 grants awarded by the National 4-H Council for projects from across the country.

To kickoff Lots to Plots, the 4-Hers held a series of three workshops this past summer for teens at the Plymouth County Center for Agriculture. They focused on youth from urban areas. The 4-Hers guided the teens in planting, harvesting, and achieving soil health, and used window boxes and other techniques so the attendees encountered few barriers to entry in exploring agriculture. “I think it’s great for people in urban areas, because they don’t get as much exposure to agriculture,” said Owen. “It’s so important for society and our planet.”

It also put the 4-Hers firmly in the role of educators; they shared the knowledge they have gained through their years in 4-H. “The biggest value of this project is the teens’ confidence and understanding that they know so much about this subject… They are already leaders in this field. They are at the point where they can share this knowledge with kids who haven’t had their experiences,” explained Meghan.

Most of the funds from the grant were put toward consumables such as seeds, soil, and compost, and the participants kept seedlings to take home, explained Meghan. The 4-Hers will survey the attendees for feedback following the three workshops. They hope that Lots to Plots continues beyond the summer and that its attendees eventually join 4-H.

Hope, Owen, and the other teens are still astounded at how far their idea has gone. “If you could get involved in something, do it,” advised Hope. “You don’t know how big it will get.”

Today, the Massachusetts 4-H program, following the guidance of the state of Massachusetts, announced it will be reopening to an in-person mode of delivery.

This decision gives clubs and groups the opportunity to meet again, work on their projects, and participate in fairs. This document includes all of the details about the reopening.

Participation in 4-H builds life skills such as compassion and resilience, and no 4-H project demonstrated these qualities better this year than sewing masks. 4-H members in two Massachusetts clubs, the Thimbles club of Cotuit and the Montague Stitchers in Montague, put their skills to work while helping their communities stay safe.

Led by Lisa Martin, Thimbles members began stitching after receiving a request from Jen Pacheco, a nurse at Cape Cod Hospital who is also a former student of Martin’s from Cape Cod Regional Technical School. After supplying the hospital with cloth masks, “word got out,” said Martin, and a movement was born.

While Thimbles club members Jennifer and Lydia, both currently high school seniors, found the first mask or two tricky to stitch, their skills soon grew expert. Jennifer even uploaded a “how to” YouTube video on mask making.

More important than the hours spent sewing were the lessons learned by the young women during this unprecedented time. “It was good to see how we were helping,” said Jennifer. “We can see how this project is helping communities around us.”

Lydia saw the impact of her efforts first-hand when she met (via social distancing) a healthcare provider from New York who wore a mask she made. “It means I’m making a difference,” said Lydia. “It means a lot to me that I’m helping people on the frontlines.”

Thimbles has donated nearly 1,000 masks to more than 22 different groups, including hospitals on Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard; assisted living facilities; local fire departments; and the Joint Base of Cape Cod. Candy LeBlanc (pictured at right), the Youth Program Coordinator on base, received 220 children’s masks from Thimbles!

The Montague Stitchers started a collective effort of making masks following inspiration from club members’ families. Three members sewed masks with their mothers and grandmothers, and the rest of the club caught the spirit!

Led by Kathryn Aubry-McAvoy and two other leaders, the club learned to make masks when Kathryn distributed a tutorial, 4-H fabric, and elastic to the girls (pictured below). Kathryn also loaned sewing machines to club members, including one purchased by the Massachusetts 4-H Foundation.

Like Thimbles, Kathryn admits that the club members found stitching the masks difficult initially. While the girls echoed this sentiment, they also took pride in the growth of their skills. “I’ve gotten better at sewing straight seams, better at sewing through multiple layers and better at sewing around bends and curves,” said Jyn Rankin, a 9^th grader and member of the club for two years. “It’s really nice to be able to help out the community, to help people stay safe. It definitely feels good to be part of a larger movement that is helping to make the world a better place.”

The Stitchers have sewn hundreds of non-medical grade masks for volunteers at community food distribution centers, employees at a local hardware store, family and friends, and for a mask drive led by the city of Greenfield. They even made masks for 4-H Educators Tom Waskiewicz and Carrie Chickering-Sears!

So many are grateful for the efforts of these 4-H club members. “The Stitchers saw the opportunity to sew much-needed masks to keep their family, friends and community safe,” said Waskiewicz. “They are to be commended for their initiative, selflessness and support of others.”