Wakulla 4-H is a year-round youth development program serving school-age children ages 5 to 18. From September to May, youth participate in community-based clubs as well as school enrichment programs. In the summer months, youth have opportunities to participate in 4-H day camps and overnight residential programming. To register for 4-H, please visit our website and follow the link to 4-H Online.
2025-2026 4-H Clubs
Wakulla 4-H Clubs meet from September through April. Ages for all clubs are determined by age as of September 1, 2025. Contact Rachel Pienta r.pienta@ufl.edu or Christy Pearson christinepearson@ufl.edu or 850-901-7092 for more information.
- Archery Club – Ages 8-18. Introduction to the sport of archery. Learn archery fundamentals, sportsmanship and safety.
- Art Lab Club – Ages 11-18. Self-expression using different types of art.
- Bits & Bridles Horse Club – Ages 8-18. Learn about horses and performance competitions.
- Clay Makers Club – Ages 8-13. Fall (Sept-Oct) and Spring (Jan- Feb) clay art classes.
- Communications Voice and Vision Club – Ages 11-18. Learn communication skills from public speaking to podcast production.
- County Council – Ages 11-18. Elected 4-H members and club representatives, discuss and plan 4-H programs for the year. Participate
- Food Challenge Cooking Series – Ages 8-18. Learn about and prepare to compete in the 4-H Food Challenge at the North Florida Fair in November 2025. Additional cooking activities will be announced for Spring 2026.
- Florida Youth Naturalist Club – Ages 8-13. Learn about nature through the Florida Youth Naturalist Program. Club will include field experiences.
- Future Leaders of Wakulla (FLOW) – Ages 11-18. Learn leadership skills and how to apply them in the community.
- Homeschool Club – Ages 5-18. Learn by doing, develop leadership skills and make a positive impact on the community.
- Pet Pals – Ages 5-18. Learn about pet care. Volunteer opportunities for hands-on experience with animals.
- Panhandle Poultry 4-H Club – Ages 5-18. Learn about raising chicks, poultry science and showmanship. Contact Rachel Pienta for information about ordering or hatching chicks.
- Shotgun – Ages 10-18. Learn about the shotgun shooting sports of skeet, trap and sporting clays, sportsmanship and firearm safety.
4-H Project Learning and the North Florida Fair
Positive youth development is at the heart of the 4-H experience. Fair participation can serve as a hands-on way to learn and apply life skills beyond the club setting. Youth may be earning blue ribbons while they also developing into blue ribbon youth and engaged members of their local community.
4-H members can enter projects in the fair in multiple categories. For example, a poultry project can be documented with a tabletop exhibit that illustrates how the project was conducted. The bird may be entered as an exhibit in the agricultural department. Photos of the bird may be entered into the photography category. Youth can design a flyer to sell eggs and enter it into the graphic design category. Other possible fair entries can be products produced as part of the 4-H learn by doing experience in clubs or summer camps. Projects can be documented through photos, graphic designs, or exhibits and all of this work can become one or more fair entries.
Preparing fair entries can be part of the 4-H year and can serve as ways to document youth learning and, at the same time, recognize achievement. Youth can enter artwork, poetry, crafts, constructed models, collections, and baked goods. Fair exhibit entries may do double duty for county and state events. For example, a photo or graphic design entry may also be used for competition in a county showcase or entered in the state contest.
Preparing to enter an exhibit, compete in a skill-a-thon, or to show a project animal at the fair can provide youth with a time-limited, concrete goal to achieve. For example, in Wakulla 4-H, club leaders kick off the club year in September with an introduction to the North Florida Fair and the ways to participate so that youth can opt to start the membership year with a fair experience. After the North Florida Fair concludes in November, club leaders encourage the youth to set their sights on preparing a presentation or entry for county showcase and state contests.
4-H School Enrichment Programming
Each school year, University of Florida faculty located at the Wakulla Extension office in Crawfordville offer school enrichment programming to all our area schools. Programs include agricultural education, embryology, public speaking, nutrition, personal finance, horticulture, environmental education, civic education, and more. University of Florida Extension faculty participate in Project Learning Tree weeks and Science or School Enrichment and Parent Outreach Night events at area schools on request.
Annual signature school enrichment programs offered by the University of Florida IFAS Wakulla Extension office include but are not limited to the following:
4-H Embryology: Our faculty supports classroom instruction with equipment and curriculum to teach poultry science with an egg hatching unit.
4-H Public Speaking: Faculty provide curriculum, ribbons, and medallions for elementary and middle school-level classroom and school public speaking contests (formerly known as the Tropicana competition). A county level contest is held at the Extension office in Crawfordville in April. Youth advance to a district level contest in May.
4-H Ag Adventures: An elementary school partner is invited to bring 4th graders on the Annual Ag Adventures field trip to enjoy an educational day on a demonstration farm in Quincy.
Living On My Own (LOMO): Financial education program that includes a facilitated personal budget simulation exercise. This program is provided to middle and high school classes by request. Watch for the Teen “FLOW” Leadership Summit on October 13, 2025. LOMO will be offered as part of this event!
4-H Day at the Capitol: School age youth ages 5 to 18 are invited by 4-H to spend a day in Tallahassee during the legislative session. Youth meet with public officials, tour the House and Senate chambers, and participate in a legislative debate and voting simulation. 4-H faculty can teach lessons and provide curriculum resources focused on civic education on request.
School Garden Programs: The Extension team can help local schools plan and install school gardens and provide age-appropriate curriculum for teachers to use with students in addition to serving as guest instructors and facilitators.
Grant writing support: Extension faculty can help teachers prepare applications for Florida Farm Bureau mini-grants, Florida Agriculture in the Classroom and/or School Garden grants.
STEM Lessons and Skill-a-Thon(s): Extension faculty have resources to support science units with hands-on activities and more.
4-H Service Learning: Extension faculty can help teachers implement service learning with youth that engages students from planning to hands-on service.
Connecting Curriculum to the North Florida Fair: 4-H staff and Extension faculty can provide resources to connect youth to hands-on experiences and events that support STEM learning, agriculture and natural resources education, as well as consumer and financial literacy.
Future Leaders of Wakulla (FLOW): FLOW is a youth leadership development program for youth ages 11 to 18. The Extension team can teach leadership development lessons, provide resources, and offer additional out-of-school enrichment opportunities.
Whether teachers or schools want a credentialed guest speaker or an expert program facilitator, Extension faculty are only a phone call away at 850-926-3931. For more information about local Extension programs, visit the program online at https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/wakulla/.
4-H Open House
The 2025 Wakulla County Extension Open House is Saturday, August 23 from 9 AM to 1 PM at 84 Cedar Avenue in Crawfordville. This free, family-friendly event will offer tours, demonstrations, and opportunities
to learn about a variety of Extension programs, including 4-H. Food trucks will be on-site with food to purchase. Rockulla members will be performing.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
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