Life on the Farm: Brunswick County’s 4-H School Enrichment Program
Story & Photography by Sandra Chambers
Take several hundred third graders. Transplant them to a local farm for a day. Mix in cattle, hogs and a hayride. Add a few classes on soil, plants and farm economics. What you get is a unique experience provided as part of Brunswick County’s 4-H School Enrichment Program.
More than 750 third graders from seven area schools participated in this year’s program, which took place in mid-November, running daily for a week and a half at Funston Farms in Winnabow.
“Life on the Farm has been going on for more than 20 years,” explains Blair Green, Brunswick County 4-H Extension Agent. “It is more than just a fun field trip for students, it’s a learning experience. The success of the program is due in a large part to strong teacher support, excellent volunteers and an open relationship with the owners of Funston Farms.”
Farm owner Wilbur Earp says Funston Farms, which raises beef cattle, commercial hogs, corn, wheat, soybeans and pine timber, has been in his family for 98 years. “This Life on the Farm program is one of my favorite activities,” he says.
Third graders from Belville Elementary School visited the farm one November morning. Colorful hats, mittens and winter coats greeted one of North Carolina’s colder mornings as students divided into groups to visit five learning stations. Volunteers from Brunswick County’s Master Gardener Program engaged students in lessons and demonstrations on soils, plant reproduction, composting, plant growth and usage, and farm economics.
“The program is great because it reinforces and extends our third-grade science unit on soil,” explains Elizabeth Mantz, a third-grade teacher from Belville
Elementary. “The people who lead the small groups are very knowledgeable and they do a great job of getting the kids to participate.”
Lynn Schwartzkopf, one of the Master Gardener volunteers from St. James, has been participating in Life on the Farm for the past three years. “I try to help students understand what soil is made of, why it is important and how to improve and protect it,” says Schwartzkopf.
“Being right here on the farm while I’m teaching enables me to show real life examples — such as that field with a cover crop, which is used to protect the soil.”
Tom Pezanowski, another Master Gardener volunteer, teaches on composting and recycling. “I enjoy gardening and I love working with kids,” he says.
Green, who grew up in a rural setting in Cleveland, North Carolina, and graduated from N.C. State University with a degree in agriculture and extension education, led the 20-minute-hayride, during which time she talked with the students about raising beef cattle and hogs.
As the cold morning gave way to the warmer afternoon sun, students scattered in groups to enjoy their bag lunches and share what they liked best about the day.
“I liked the hayride the best,” says Mekhi, “because I learned about all the animals.”
“I think it’s cool to see real cows and horses and pigs,” says Dejane, explaining that this is her first trip to a farm.
“I learned something new today,” volunteers Cameron.
“I learned that you can recycle plants!”
“The Life on the Farm program is a good opportunity for kids who don’t live on farms to see what all goes on,” explains Leslie Wilson, 4-H Program Assistant. “It’s a day they really remember.”
NC 4-H Celebrates 100th-Year Anniversary
North Carolina’s 4-H program plans a year-long centennial celebration to mark its 100th-year anniversary in 2009. With a membership of 204,000 young people in North Carolina, and 6.5 million nationwide, 4-H is one of the state and nation’s premier youth organizations.
Over the years, the goal of 4-H has been to develop citizenship, leadership and life skills of youth through mostly experiential learning programs. The 4-H motto, “To Make the Best Better,” and its slogan, “Learn by Doing,” summarize their core values. The official emblem, the four-leaf clover, represents Head, Heart, Hands and Health, which members pledge to “clearer thinking, greater loyalty, larger service and better living for their club, community, country and world.”
North Carolina 4-H is supported by North Carolina Cooperative Extension, which is based out of North Carolina’s two land-grant institutions, N.C. State University and N.C. A&T University.
The Brunswick County Cooperative Extension Center and the Brunswick County 4-H Youth Development program are supported not only by the universities, but also by Brunswick County. The county 4-H program numbers more than 70 members, 200 participants in the summer program, and reaches more than 2,000 students through their school enrichment program.
Statewide centennial celebration plans include traveling exhibits and a performing arts troupe, a centennial spotlight at the N.C. State Fair in October 2009, community service projects and hundreds of smaller, locally based projects.
Other activities planned include: a 4-H alumni party, time capsule, canned food drive for 100 “green” items, beach cleanup, cake contest, and more.
For more information go to www.nc4h100.org.
School Enrichment Programs For Second and Fifth Graders
Brunswick County’s 4-H School Enrichment Program also includes educational opportunities for second and fifth graders in the county. Second graders participate in a program called Embryology in the Classroom. Workbooks, incubators and eggs are provided to second-grade classrooms for students to learn about the life cycle of chickens and watch the chickens hatch.
A new program, Ecosystem Exploits, will be piloted in the spring of 2009 with area fifth graders. Funded by a grant from International Paper, the program was designed to enhance the fifth-grade science requirements listed in the N.C. Standard Course of Study. The program includes ecosystems, the water cycle, land forms, erosion, storm water, soil and water conservation, pollutants, pesticides, septic systems, general water quality and construction of rain barrels and gardens. The Ecosystem Program includes six hours of instruction at the Brunswick County Government Center, a hands-on component where students will construct a rain garden on their school grounds, and a community-service component involving designing and painting rain barrels to be placed in different areas of the county. For more information, see http://brunswickco4h.shutterfly.com and http://brunswick4h.wordpress.com/.
