Lafayette 4-H Club held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 6th. There was a large group of kids at the meeting, so they were split into two groups. One group went outside to learn about fire safety and wildfire prevention. The other group was inside making snacks and learning about the Fender Blender Pro.

Fire Safety

Lafayette 4-H’ers had a very interesting and educational March monthly meeting. County Forester, Jared Beauchamp and Ranger Jordan Hunt presented an Outdoor Fire Safety Program. Fire fighting tools were shown and the capabilities of the Brush Fire Truck was demonstrated by Mr. Beauchamp and Mr. Hunt. In addition, Wild Fire Prevention and FireWise Communities were discussed. Florida has a year round fire season and wildfires can cause major environmental, social, and economic damage. The wildfire that does not start is one that does not have to be controlled. Prevention is the key to help reduce the number of human-caused fires. Education is the key and Lafayette 4-H members have a better understanding of the importance of wildfire prevention and fire safety.

Fender Blender Pro

4-H’ers were also able to try the Fender Blender Bike, which promotes exercise and healthy nutrition. Lafayette County 4-H surprised its youth members by prompting the 21 students into putting their energy to work by making the day’s snack of pudding parfaits by peddling away on a bicycle. The bicycle, a stationary Fender Blender Pro, is an exercise bike on a stand. It features a large, colorful wheel and has a blender base attached to the fender. Peddling on the bike creates the energy needed to spin the blender blades.

Naturally the students’ interest was focused on how fast each one could peddle and spin the blender blades.

Making puddings and whipped cream for the parfaits became fun and quick. Miss Eva(with the Family Nutrition Program) was able to truthfully report that she’d never seen thicker whipped cream, especially within 5 minutes!

One fun feature of the Fender Blender Pro (no, this is not an ad) is the fact that the blender is on the front of the fender of the bicycle. The person operating the bike is able to see the results of the effort peddling quickly (or if going slowly) before his or her very eyes.

The students took turns, one by one, as they make the two puddings, one vanilla and one chocolate, and the whipped cream.

Several students volunteered to act as servers as the members moved down the food line to create their one-of-a-kind parfait. Parfaits were made with either chocolate or vanilla pudding, or some of both, whipped cream, strawberries, granola, or chocolate-mint cookie toppings.

Special thanks to the Division of Forestry-Jared Beauchamp and Jordan Hunt and Hamilton County Schools and Extension for the use of the blender bike.

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