Interested in jumpstarting your holidays with a crafty exercise that doubles as a fundraiser for Broward County 4-H youth programming?
Look no further and sign up for a fun and festive wreath-making workshop scheduled for December 9 from 10 a.m. to noon at the University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, 3205 College Ave., Davie. Imagine using fresh and fragrant evergreen cuttings from a local vendor that sells Frazier Fir trees from Vermont to arrange your own holiday wreath.
Registration is open for anyone 10 years of age and older. The $35 workshop includes light refreshments, all supplies and instructions led by UF/IFAS Extension Broward staff, 4-H members and volunteers from the UF/IFAS Master Gardener Volunteer Program. Participants will get hands-on instruction during a fun horticulture activity. At the end of the workshop, participants will have a beautifully decorated and fresh 12-inch wreath to display at home or gift to a neighbor, family or friend during the holidays.
“Proceeds from the workshop will provide scholarships for Broward County youth to attend 4-H summer camp and leadership events throughout the year,” said Alexandra Goetz, a 4-H youth development agent at UF/IFAS Extension Broward County.
Nearly 6 million youth participate in 4-H programs across the United States. That makes 4-H the nation’s largest positive youth development organization of the land-grant university system and Cooperative Extension System. In Florida, 4-H is administered by UF/IFAS Extension and Florida A&M University and serves approximately 200,000 youth annually.
The UF/IFAS Extension Broward County 4-H program offers hands-on education and fun projects in areas such as marine ecology, photography, horticulture, food and nutrition, small and large animals, computers and much more. Programming focuses on building life skills in the areas of healthy living, citizenship, leadership and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in young people ages 5 to 18.
Broward also regularly has members on the Florida 4-H Executive Board Committee, the programming body of the Florida 4-H Council. The council represents all of Florida 4-H and aims to create opportunities for all youth enrolled.
“While many of these youth are eager to take on leadership roles, cost is a big barrier for participating in leadership programs. Individuals can spend upwards of $1,500 participating in statewide events,” said Goetz. “This puts a significant burden on them and their families, and we aim to provide opportunities for all interested in these roles to be able to participate, regardless of cost.”
Locally, 4-H also provides community clubs and in-school STEM enrichment opportunities by building connections within Broward County Public Schools to offer teachers and students the opportunities to learn-by-doing, connecting STEM to the real world around them.
“As the second largest school district in the state, we have the opportunity to provide 250,000 students with hands-on STEM activities, free of cost,” she said.
Learn more about Florida 4-H at florida4h.org.
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By Lourdes Mederos, rodriguezl@ufl.edu
ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
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