Search
Fall was a busy time for the West Feliciana 4-H Program. Our club meetings are back in full swing, and the 4-H’ers continue to participate in two different lesson studies. Bains 4th and 5th are learning about different pollinators in their lesson study. West Feliciana Middle School, West Feliciana High School, Parkview Baptist Flex, Home School Co-op, and Members at Large are participating in the STEM and Food and Fitness related lessons. As of December, we have 225 members enrolled in our program, and we are constantly recruiting! This quarter, our 4-H Agent began offering the Clover Bud Program at Bains Lower Elementary and was excited to teach one Pre-K class about ants and how they help our environment.
At the end of October, six youth attended 4-H Challenge Camp at Lion King Retreat Center where they honed their team building skills.
Our 4-H Junior Leaders have been working on their service-learning projects for the year. In October, they hosted a trunk or treat booth at the West Feliciana Sports Park. The state 4-H service-learning theme is hunger and poverty, and our junior leaders have taken that to heart. They collected canned goods for Thanksgiving. Also in November, the Junior Leaders worked on a gratitude calendar campaign where they did something kind for someone else every day and recorded it. During December, they donated toys for the Toys for Tots campaign.
During our Wildlife and Wetlands Day Workshop, 4-H’ers learned about Louisiana wildlife and wetlands. It was a fun day with the 4-H’ers gaining knowledge on wood duck ecology, different wildlife biologist career tracks, and many other topics.
West Feliciana 4-H youth also participated in a Food and Fitness Workshop where state 4-H board members, Caden Gates and Peyton Daniel, using a tailgate theme, taught 4-H’ers how to make and plate their nachos. The 4-H’ers also practiced some physical activity football themed workouts.
4-H’ers competed in our Culinary Arts Contest. 45 dishes were entered in 20 of the 21 Culinary Arts categories. We were so excited to see growth from last year and can’t wait to see the number of dishes that will be entered next year.
All project clubs have hit the ground running. Horse, Mission Nutrition (cooking), Rabbit, and Sewing Clubs, along with Archery and Shotgun teams have all met and are teaching our 4-H’ers new skills. Archery and Shotgun Teams are preparing to take part in their competitions beginning in February and have been working very hard to get ready. The 4-H’ers in the Horse Club have been learning how to care for their horses. They will begin to learn about riding disciplines starting this month! Our Sewing Club has been working on crafts and soon will begin working on their fashion show projects for our Contest Day. The members of Mission Nutrition are learning how to “Power Up with Breakfast” and “You are What You Eat”. Our Horticulture Club members are learning about plants and gardening. In December, the members discovered succulents and made succulent pots to take home. Our livestock youth are getting ready for a busy show year.
We are looking forward to late winter and spring and all that it will bring.
The Feliciana Master Gardener program has been especially busy this quarter. In October they bought and delivered $1800 worth of soil and school garden supplies to school gardens in East and West Feliciana parishes.
In December, 18 students graduated from the new Master Gardener class, and are now required to volunteer 40 hours in the community to give back to the program. The graduates plan to host a Spring Garden Tour to raise money for 4-H scholarships and school gardens in the parish.
M’Adele Miller, a Master Gardener and flower farmer from St. Francisville, volunteered at the Southwest Louisiana Ag Career Day where she taught 80 students about flower farming and how to design a boutonniere.
The Horticulture Agent and the Feliciana Master Gardeners started a 4-H Horticulture Project Club for 7th through 12th grade members. The 4-H’ers learned how to install a drip irrigation system, cleaned the landscape beds at the Council on Aging, and made succulent arrangements.
The Feliciana Forestry Association held their annual tour at the Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge. William Daniel discussed Friends of Cat Island projects, and everyone visited the national champion cypress tree. They are busy planning their annual meeting which will be held in St. Francisville February 6th.
Our Livestock/Forage Agent wrapped up a Master Cattleman Program for 14 livestock producers from the surrounding parishes on October 22nd. The program included ten classes providing information on animal health, reproduction, pasture management and other livestock-related topics.
The LSU AgCenter partnered with the Grazing Land Conservation Initiative (GLCI) to host a Fencing Workshop on October 4th at the Idlewild Research Station in Clinton. Over 30 participants from surrounding parishes received hands-on experience with repairing various types of fences, while also hearing from experts on building fences.
More information about livestock activities and resources can be found at the LSU AgCenter website https://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/livestock/beef_cattle or https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_offices/parishes/west%20feliciana/features/agriculture/livestock for information from West Feliciana Parish.
In October Pre-K students at Bains Lower Elementary (BLE), were introduced to the OrganWise Guys- lovable plush organs like Hardy Heart, Calci M. Bone and Sid & Kid the Kidney Brothers in School Days Here We Come while kindergarten students learned about the MyPlate and participated in a MyPlate Match Up Activity. Also, during the month, the children planted carrots, radish, broccoli, and peas. In November and December Pre-K children learned about fruits and vegetables from the OrganWise Guys Concentrating on Fruits & Vegetables book and kindergarten students learned about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, the forms we can find fruits and vegetables, as well as the parts of the plant we eat. The kindergarteners were excited to participate in the Color Relay. The children also continued to care for the garden. Special thanks to the Feliciana Master Gardeners for supplying soil, transplants, tools, and adorable watering cans to the school. The Mission Nutrition 4-H Project Club met in October. They took part in “You are What You Eat” program from Teen Cuisine. During the session, the 4-H’ers learned how to analyze food labels to choose healthy food options, measure appropriate portion sizes, identify kitchen equipment, learned kitchen lingo, and practiced using a chef’s knife. They prepared and sampled Waldorf Salad. In December, the 4-H’ers took part in “Power Up with Breakfast” program also from Teen Cuisine. The 4-H’ers learned the importance of breakfast, identified components of a healthy breakfast, practiced safe food preparation and habits, and participated in muscle and bone-strengthening activities. The group prepared and tasted Egg Salad Sandwiches.
The Nutrition & Community Health (NCH) Agent hosted a table at the Family Service Community Resource Fair where participants spun the prize wheel and answered nutrition questions. The NCH Agent provided nutrition resources for the families that visited her table. During the Pumpkin Patch at the Family Service Center, the NCH Agent presented to the parents and grandparents information on the perfect fall treat-pumpkins. Participants learned the nutrition of pumpkins, top producing states, common types of pumpkins, how to shop for, use, store, and prepare pumpkins. The NCH Agent also made a pumpkin recipe for all to try.
Our NCH Agent continues to provide the herb or spice of the month factsheet and samples at the West Feliciana Parish Library. She’s also part of a team of agents who write the herb/spice factsheets. Stop by the library each month to pick up your factsheet and free herb/spice sample.
