Learn by doing.
That’s the motto for the 4-H club, and Norfolk 4-H gives community members aged 9 to 21 a wide range of things to get their hands dirty with and pick up some amazing skills.
We spoke with President of Norfolk 4-H, Sharon Judd, who says they see a mixture of everyone joining the club in Norfolk from those on the farm already looking to gain new skills to those in the more urban parts of the county wanting to see life in the rural community.
The diversity of the programs makes it very popular as well.
As it is a rural setting, there are many animal-based programs, with the Llama program being one of the most popular.
But Judd said Norfolk is lucky to have tons of options outside of animals as well from archery to gardening to canning.
Judd said lots of core values continue today from when she first joined the 4-H club, and some even have renewed interest like canning, gardening, and freezing thanks to the pandemic.
But while some things are the same, like getting a cow ready to “show” at the Norfolk County Fair, the process in getting the cow ready and the tech involved has changed a lot.
She said it’s important that 4-H, at its core, stay the same while also evolving with the world around it.
Over her years, she has seen many kids on the farm go to 4-H and take those skills back to the family business but she’s also watched as kids from the urban areas of the county had a new career path opened up in front of them.
She spoke about one 4-H member she saw come in from an urban area, loved 4-H and the lessons taught, and eventually pursued it into a career as a national sales rep for a seeds company.
She also told a story of another woman who is going to school now but is making money “fitting cows” and getting them ready for show while also doing animal photography – career opportunities she did not know were possible until going to 4-H.
She encourages anyone interested to consider joining, as you never know where it will lead.
Written by Matt LeBlanc