We wanted to take a moment and share a message from Barton County 4-H member, Russell Kern, about his time at the Ignite by 4-H Conference on March 25-29 in Washington, D.C.
“There was a lot to offer at the Ignite conference in Washington DC. I went with the Kansas 4-H Health and Wellness Team, and part of the conference is to come up with an idea that can change our community to present at a showcase later that week. Our presentation was called 'Live Well Lead Well'. We have been working on this project for a few years, and what we do is go to different places and do fun activities over the four H’s of 4-H. For example, for Head we do breathing exercises and meditation for well-being. For Heart, we show them fun ways to exercise their heart and a demonstration showing how a healthy heart works. For this demonstration, you take your non-dominant hand and open and close it as fast as you can for a minute, demonstrating an unhealthy heart. Next, you take your dominant hand and open and close it, saying a three-syllable word, demonstrating a healthy heart. For hands, we do community service projects like making dog toys out of used T-shirts, eliminating clothes waste, and donating the toys to shelters. And health is overall health, such as healthy eating and drinking habits, or an activity showing how much sugar and caffeine are in popular drinks.
There were several classes to attend at the conference that focused on various topics. One class I took was a two-part class, meaning it went on for two hours. We were taught basic video design principles and taught how to edit with CapCut. Then we got into teams and made a one-minute video about any 4-H related topic we wanted to. I thought it was very interesting collaborating with others. In another class I took, I learned about food waste and some easy ways to repurpose food that might otherwise go to waste. We got to try different preserved foods like frozen strawberries, freeze-dried mangos, pickled watermelon rind, which was my personal favorite, and some jelly. Another highlight of the trip was the monument tour, where we had three hours to explore the monuments as a group, and we took many good pictures. Overall, the National Ignite by 4-H conference was really fun, and I'd recommend others to attend.” ~Russell Kern
The 4-H program has so much to offer all of our area youth! Opportunities like this, and many others, where they would get to network, learn, and build on the ‘sparks’ they have identified here at home. There’s no limit to what 4-H can offer! Are you interested in learning more about joining 4-H? Then feel free to reach out to 4-H & Youth Development Agent, Ben Sims, at benjam63@ksu.edu or 785-628-9430.
Ignite by 4-H Conference