UF/IFAS Budget Cuts Impact 4-H Dramatically, Two 4-H Camps To Be Closed

By:
Ami Neiberger

Source(s):
Damon Miller dmi@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 846-0996 ext. 225

GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Two 4-H camps will be closed and the statewide 4-H program will be severely impacted by state budget cuts, said Damon Miller, assistant dean for 4-H programs at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).

4-H Camp Cherry Lake near Madison and 4-H Camp Cloverleaf near Lake Placid will be closed. He said alternate funding plans and structures were considered by the administration before the closures were announced last week by Mike Martin, UF vice president for agriculture and natural resources.

More than 1,000 children attended the two camps last summer, which also host environmental workshops, family reunions and other educational activities year-round. The two state-owned camps rely heavily on user fees and private support, although they do receive about $100,000 in state support annually for staffing and expenses.

“This is a day that none of us wanted to see,” Miller said. “The entire 4-H family — children, teens, 4-H agents, volunteer leaders, 4-H alumni and state staff — are heartbroken over these impending closures.”

He said a date for the closures remains to be determined. In addition to Cherry Lake and Cloverleaf, the state 4-H program has two other camps. 4-H Camp Timpoochee near Niceville and 4-H Camp Ocala near Umatilla in the Ocala National Forest will remain open.

The two facilities being closed have a long tradition of serving young people, said Miller. Camp Cherry Lake opened in 1946 in Madison. Seventeen county 4-H programs camped there last summer: Baker, Bradford, Dixie, Duval, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Madison, Nassau, Suwannee, Taylor, Union and Wakulla.

4-H Camp Cloverleaf was purchased in 1949 and opened in 1957. Twelve county 4-H programs camped there last summer: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Dade, Glades, Hendry, Indian River, Lee, Manatee, Palm Beach and Sarasota.

The closures are part of the IFAS budget reduction. The institute received a $2.6 million dollar budget cut this year, and anticipates further cuts in the upcoming special session of the state legislature.

In addition to the camp closures, Martin announced that several UF/IFAS research facilities and offices in Gainesville are being examined for consolidation or closure.

“Our 4-H camps are not the only part of 4-H affected by the budget situation,” said Miller. For example, in-service training for county 4-H faculty on new techniques for working with young people relies on the IFAS travel budget to reach 4-H agents working in all parts of the state. Miller said that all travel has been cancelled and in-service training eliminated until the end of the fiscal year in June 2002.

An additional problem facing the youth program, which worked with more than 286,000 young people last year, is a hiring freeze on some positions. A new statewide volunteer development specialist to support programs which affect more than 15,000 4-H volunteers can not be hired until the budget thaws out.

County 4-H agent positions in Clay, Okaloosa and Suwannee counties cannot be filled due to a hiring freeze. Another support position for the state 4-H camping program was eliminated in the most recent cuts. Student assistants in the state 4-H office also were laid off, reducing the number of people available to work with state-level events and programs. The closure of the UF/IFAS poultry program will mean that embryology educational programs, conducted in partnership between 4-H and schools, will be left scrambling to find new sources for fertile eggs.

In spite of the budget situation, all is not lost, said Miller. “Our commitment to youth development has only grown stronger in the face of new challenges,” he said. “Our county 4-H programs will continue. 4-H teaches young people about their connections to living things, and about the linkages between people, nature and each other. That has not changed,” said Miller. ” We believe that young people learn best through hands-on education, and we provide experiences they often don’t receive in their schooling. We will continue to fulfill our mission as a land-grant institution to serve the young people in our state.”

Miller said another bright spot is the “Conversations on Youth Development” program occurring around the state as part of 4-H’s centennial celebration.

“We are convening the youth development community at county, state and national levels to talk about what strategies we can take to build the future we want for young people. Now more than ever before, we will persevere in our commitment to positive youth development through 4-H,” he said.

Long stereotyped as a program only for farm kids who raise cows and bake apple pies, the 4-H program has changed with the times and reached out to youth in urban, suburban and rural areas. The program’s offerings still include agriculture, and they have expanded to encompass computers, the environment, public speaking, community service and other projects of interest to today’s young people.

The 4-H program is the youth development program of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service (CES), which is headquartered in Gainesville at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. 4-H worked with more than 286,000 youth ages 5-18 last year, and has active programs in Florida’s 67 counties and on five Seminole Tribe reservations in South Florida. The CES is funded by a partnership between federal, state and county agencies.

For more information, visit the Florida 4-H website at http://www.florida4h.org. To find out more about 4-H’s centennial visit http://www.4hcentennial.org. To read the official news release about the IFAS budget reduction and for more information about IFAS, go to: http://news.ifas.ufl.edu.

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Posted: November 19, 2001


Category: UF/IFAS



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