Green & Growing

Guarantee your spot at 4-H camp today! Registration is now open!

All youth, ages 8 and in 3rd grade through 13, are invited to join the adventure at Franklin County 4-H Camp. Campers will have fun meeting other youth while participating in a variety of camp activities like canoeing, disc golf, bottle rockets, creeking, nature exploration, swimming, hiking, team challenges, high ropes, a climbing wall, zip line, campfires, crafts, and so much more!

Date: June 13-17, 2024
More Information: go.osu.edu/camp

Deadline to Register: May 15, 2024

Financial Aid Application Deadline: May 1, 2024

The annual 4-H club advisor meeting regarding the Franklin County Fair and everything club volunteers need to know about fair entries is fast approaching!

All 4-H Clubs are required to send at least one representative to the update on April 17, 7:00pm.

Why is attendance required for this event? All clubs need to send at least one representative so that they are informed about the fair entry process. The representative is then responsible for sharing the information with their club. All advisors are encouraged to attend so they can hear the info firsthand.

Date: April 17, 2024

Time: 7:00pm

(The update will start after a short 4-H Council meeting that begins at 6:30.)

Where: Kunz-Brundige Franklin County Extension Building
2548 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210

Are you taking any of these 4-H projects to the Fair?

• Market Rabbits

• Market Poultry

• Market Lambs

• Market Goats

• Lactating Dairy Goats

• Market Beef (including beef & dairy feeders)

• Market Swine

If you answered yes to the question above, YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW to attend a livestock quality assurance session in order to exhibit your animal at the fair. Franklin County is offering two sessions this year.

Franklin County 4-H Session 1:

Date: April 24, 2024
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Kunz-Brundige Franklin County Extension Building

Franklin County 4-H Session 2:

Date: May 22, 2024

Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Franklin County Fairgrounds

Do you know what you need to do in order to complete your project? Make sure you check out the Franklin County 4-H Project Requirement Guide HERE. The project requirement guides explain what is required to complete each project.

This is your place to find all of the details regarding your project exhibition at the 2024 Franklin County Fair! Be sure to visit every section of the Junior Fair Book that applies to you including project evaluations, livestock exhibitions, and special events.

2024 Junior Fair Book

Submit your application to camp at the 2024 Franklin County Fair today: https://www.fcfair.org/campingapp

All applications will be reviewed after the May 12, 2024 application deadline to determine those that will have camping space for the fair. Please remember that large animal livestock exhibitors, horse exhibitors, and Senior Fair Board members will be given preference for camping sites. The camping committee will also consider camper size, number of amps needed, and fair commitments to determine who receives the camping spaces. If more applications are received than spaces allowed, a waiting list will be started.

Once the committee determines who may camp, those individuals will need to pay the $275.00 fee by June 1.

For questions regarding camping at the fair please contact the Senior Fair Office - 614-876-7235 or mail@fcfair.org.

This introductory workshop is a great opportunity for 4-H members to learn more information about public speaking and demonstration options for participation in 4-H. The workshop is free for any Franklin County 4-H member. Participants will be introduced to the opportunities to do demonstrations in their club as well as the contests at the Franklin County Fair and the Ohio State Fair. They will also learn about public speaking techniques and participate in fun practice activities. (Guests such as parents are welcome to attend with their 4-H member.)

Workshop Details

When: Monday, April 29

Time: 6:30pm

Where: Kunz-Brundige Franklin County Extension Building

Register Here

Livestock Possession Dates & Requirements

All 4-H members taking livestock projects to the Franklin County Fair should download the LIVESTOCK REQUIRMENT SUMMARY which has information regarding deadlines for possession and other requirements.

Find it here: https://www.fcfair.org/juniorfair-livestock

New Livestock ID Form

Are you planning on exhibiting a livestock project at the fair? New in 2024, the Market Livestock ID Form, Rabbit ID Form, Poultry ID Form, and the Breeding Animal ID Form have been combined into one ONLINE Livestock ID Form. Be sure to check the Livestock Requirement Summary for the dates of when the forms are due (10 days following the possession deadline).

Depending on your animal, you will need to upload various photos and documents to complete the form. Have photos of your animals, Scrapie Tag/Tattoo Numbers, NPIP hatchery paperwork, bills of sale, and breed registration paperwork ready to upload. This can even be done on your phone or mobile device.

You will need to complete one form for each animal. For example: if you have 2 market lambs, you will complete the form twice.

Livestock ID Form: https://go.osu.edu/livestockidform

The Franklin County Spring Equine Youth Clinic is held at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Hilliard, Ohio. It is an opportunity for participants to learn the basics and improve their skills in Showmanship, Equitation, Hunter Under Saddle, Horsemanship, Western Pleasure, Ranch Pleasure, Trail, and Trail in Hand.

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Registration Information: https://sites.google.com/view/fchorse/events/equine-clinic

EquiSTEP is an annual statewide requirement for all youth participating in Ohio 4-H Horse Program activities. EquiSTEP replaces the statewide requirement of reading the Horses, Safety, and You (191R) resource and viewing the Every Time, Every Ride and Horses, Kids, and Ethics videos for youth and their families who are new to the 4-H horse program. The EquiSTEP curriculum focuses on helmet safety, equine safety & handling, equine health & nutrition, and sportsmanship and is designed to rotate topics every year. The topics for the EquiSTEP program are shared below and will rotate as the member completes the course annually.

• STEP 1: Head (Helmet Safety)

  • Helmet Safety Video (Every Year)

• STEP 2: Hands (Equine Safety & Handling)

  • YR 1 Equine Behavior

• STEP 3: Health (Equine Health & Nutrition)

  • YR 1 Assessing Horse Health

• STEP 4: Heart (Sportsmanship)

  • YR 1 Winning & Losing

  • 
    

• Here is the link to enroll in/access EquiSTEP:
  https://cfaesosu.catalog.instructure.com/courses/equistep-2024
  

• To complete EquiSTEP individually, a participant must enroll using their own unique email address. (Participants should not use their school email addresses as the course enrollment invitation will be blocked by the school’s email system.) Participants must view all five videos (introduction and STEPS 1-4) which last approximately one hour in total. Once the videos are completed, participants will be able to access the 10-question quiz. Participants must complete the quiz associated with the training and achieve a minimum score of 7 (out of 10) in order to pass the training. Once the quiz is successfully completed, participants will need to complete the course survey to trigger a certificate of completion. The certificate will be emailed to the participant’s email address as well as their county’s 4-H email address (countyname4h@osu.edu). The participant must select their correct county to trigger the email to the correct email address and they must click on the submit button at the end of the survey to trigger the email.

The EquiSTEP Program is required for ALL 4-H Horse members! Failure to complete the online course will result in the members' inability to participate in the Franklin County Fair.

Note that any horse member competing in any statewide horse events such as the Hippology Contest, Horse Bowl, or the Horse Communication Contest must complete EquiSTEP prior to the event.

Cloverbud Engineering Adventure

The Cloverbud Engineering Adventure gives Cloverbuds the opportunity to work cooperatively in teams to problem-solve using STEM (science, engineering, technology and math) skills. A new theme is selected each year and teams research a topic, build a working model of their solution to the adventure challenge and create a poster to illustrate their findings. Teams present their models and findings to a team of reviewers, learn about other Cloverbud projects, participate in age-appropriate STEM activities, and are recognized during a closing celebration.

This year’s theme is Going WILD! Whether imagining the jungles of Southeast Asia, learning about the natural wonders of United States National Parks or exploring nature in their own backyard, this year’s Cloverbud Engineering Adventure will get Cloverbuds thinking about the world we live in. Cloverbuds will explore the idea of habitats and what habitats provide for the animals and plants that live there. They will have opportunities for discovery, creativity and problem solving as they explore habitats that are around them or learn about ones that are in other parts of the world. For more information on the Cloverbud Engineering Adventure and to register, please visit https://go.osu.edu/2024cloverbudengineeringadventure

Franklin County Fair Family Fun Day will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, from 8:30 am- 9:30 pm. The event is presented by the Franklin County Agricultural Society and they would love to have you participate.

The goal of the event is to create a day of family fun events, ranging from demonstrations, literary events, hands on experiences, contests, scavenger hunts, make it and take it activities, character pancake breakfast, touch a truck, karaoke, line dancing and much more. The Fair Board is looking for support from 4-H clubs to make the event a success.

There are four main ways you can support the Franklin County Fair Family Fun Day:

1. Set up a display table in the Activities Tent from 10:00am-12:00 pm. Offer a Make It and Take It craft and a learning activity for youth fairgoers and their families. They estimate up to 200 Make It and Take It materials could be shared during this time.
2. Your club members(s) could facilitate an educational demonstration or share a hands-on activity with participants, during a scheduled time frame. This may include topics on agricultural awareness, nutrition, woodworking, rocketry, science/STEM and much more!
3. Volunteer to help with set up/tear down of the event activities
4. Volunteer to help during the day with activities to make sure participants are having a great time,

For your participation, your name or club's name will appear in signage for the Family Fun Day. This includes advertisement, social media outlets, the Fair App and the FCAS website.

The Franklin County Fair Family Fun Day Planning Committee would be very grateful for any participation you are willing to offer. More information and documents about the event can be found here in their documents below.

Letter to Clubs and Organizations

Volunteer Form

Sponsorship Letter

Sponsorship Form

Through partnerships of Ohio State University Extension and organizations that offer aquatic education and water recreation, Ohio 4-H Sea Camp at Kelleys Island has offered hundreds of young people the opportunity to learn about aquatic science and experience a variety of recreational watersports on Lake Erie. Sea Camp is offered to youth ages 14-17 (age as of the first day of camp).

The mission of Ohio 4-H Sea Camp is to offer teenage youth an introduction to the Great Lakes through hands-on experiences in a variety of aquatic-based programs. Sea Camp will enable participants to experience Lake Erie-based activities and culture such as aquatic science, water recreation, and fishing. The program is a supervised, educational environment fostered by Ohio 4-H and The Ohio State University.

2024 Camp Information

Dates: July 19-23, 2024

Pre-Registration Link

From June 12-15, teens at the Spark EXPO will learn about agriculture and related STEAM fields from industry experts, and faculty and staff of the Ohio State College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). Open to all Ohio students who have completed the eighth grade or ninth grade at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year. Participants do not need to be enrolled in the 4-H program. The event includes on-campus accommodations, meals, program materials, and transportation. Supervision is provided by adult program staff.

As part of Spark EXPO, students visit Ohio State’s Columbus and Wooster campuses and learn from Ohio State students, teachers, scientists, and researchers. Students explore careers, hear from Ohio 4-H alumni who share their career stories, and learn about the college and career-readiness program: Ohio 4-H Pathways to the Future.

The deadline to register is April 17, and details are at go.osu.edu/4hsparkexpo.

The Urban Immersion Project is a 4-H initiative that combines cross-cultural learning, teamwork, and service-learning in the urban environment of Washington, DC.

Teens ages 15-18 are eligible for this 4-day service-learning experience that will build skills and abilities to prepare youth for success in a diverse workplace as well as build a cultural understanding of those who are different. This experience will not be about shopping or sightseeing, although we will visit some monuments and historic sites.

The 4-H Educator leading this experience will contact all teen applicants to complete an additional phone interview before selection.

Who: Ohio 4-H teens ages 15-18 (by the date of the trip)
Where: Washington, DC
When: Thursday (6 am), September 19th – Sunday, September 22nd, 2024
Cost: $200
Apply Today: https://warren.osu.edu/sites/warren/files/imce/2024%20Urban%20Immersion%20Application%20-%20Washington%20D.pdf

Franklin County 4-H is very forunate to be able utilize 4-H Camp Ohio each summer for our overnight summer residental camp. Did you know that 4-H Camp Ohio is a non-profit organization that serves 13 counties in Ohio? Please consider helping camp thrive this summer by donating some items on their Amazon Wishlist. The 4-H Camp Ohio Wish List is full of things needed for camp this summer - these donations have a direct impact on the youth at camp. Consider sending an item or two to camp https://a.co/6VCqJOH.

CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu.

For an accessible format of this publication, visit cfaes.osu.edu/accessibility.

Website: franklin.osu.edu
Location: 2548 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: (614) 866-6900
Facebook: facebook.com/4hfranklin
Twitter: @OSUEFranklin