Summer activities help military 4-H kids focus on the future

Aug. 11, 2016

Writer: Paul Schattenberg, 210-859-5752, paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu

Contact: Nora Tapia, 210-631-0400, Nora.tapia@ag.tamu.edu

David Wright, 254-774-6024, david.wright@ag.tamu.edu

SAN ANTONIO – While many youth may spend too much of their summer indoors and put education on hold, those in the Military 4-H program of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County have a summer filled with fun and educational programs and physical activity.

“We have several different 4-H clubs at our installation, and our membership usually ranges from 40 to 60 per age group for all of them,” said Janet Rivera, lead child and youth program coordinator at Fort Sam Houston. “Through these clubs, our military youth are exposed to a variety of subjects and activities, including cooking, textiles, nutrition, science, swimming and music.”

Rivera, who has worked with 4-H through AgriLife Extension, part of the Texas A&M University System, said she tries to coordinate one 4-H activity at least twice a month and  strives toward offering weekly activities.

Most recently, Rivera took about a dozen middle-school-age youth to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio to practice their photography skills. The students took turns taking photos of the unusual natural and architectural features of the gardens.

“Photography is one of the many non-traditional subjects 4-H offered to military youth and others in the program,” said Nora Tapia, AgriLife Extension’s outreach youth educator for the Military 4-H program in Bexar County.

Tapia said in addition to photography, Military 4-H in Bexar County offers programming in leadership, crafts, gardening and horticulture, healthy living and other areas.

“Currently, we have more than 1,200 registered 4-H members ages eight to 13 in the Military 4-H program,” she said. “They are in clubs at Lackland and Randolph Air Force bases and at Fort Sam Houston.

Tapia said the summer programming being offered to military kids through 4-H is made possible through a 4-H Military Partnerships Grant.

“The 4-H Military Partnerships Grant program is a collaboration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture, National 4-H, U. S. Army Child, Youth and School Services, U.S. Air Force Child and Youth Programs, and U.S. Navy Child and Youth Programs,” said David Wright, AgriLife Extension statewide Military 4-H program specialist based in Temple.

Wright said 4-H and participating service branches made a commitment to establish 4-H clubs on installations worldwide and provide 4-H opportunities and experiences for military-connected children and youth on installations and in communities.

“The 4-H Military Partnerships Grant provides support to the State 4-H Extension Program in establishing, sustaining and integrating youth from military families into 4-H clubs and 4-H opportunities and experiences,” he said.

Wright said more than 3,500 military youth at 12 installations throughout the state participate in these grant-funded programs. The grant provides for 4-H programming as well as professional development for staff. Programming is focused on science, technology, engineering and technology, or STEM, health and fitness, and citizenship.

“We’ve had several 4-H activities at the youth centers at military installations in Bexar County already this summer,” Tapia said. “At one of the programs we showed the kids how to plant an herb garden and take care of the plants. At another we had a cultural awareness program about different people, which was especially helpful to military kids because they might relocate to another state or country. We also had a healthy living program where they learned about making simple healthy meals and snacks.”

Tapia said 4-H is helpful to the children of military families as it provides continuity in the event the family is relocated during military service.

“4-H is in every state and is both a national and international program, so there’s a good chance there will be a 4-H club at whatever installation they wind up going to,” she said. “And with the military clubs, there are typically youth coordinators we work with to provide the programming.”

Alex Ramon, 13, has been involved in 4-H since he began elementary school and is currently in a Military 4-H club at Fort Sam Houston. His father serves in the U.S. Army as a medic.

“I’ve participated in 4-H music camp, cooking, swimming and science,” Ramon said. “These programs have helped me be more social and to get outside more and have fun. They’ve also shown me how to cooperate with others and have been a great way to make new friends.”

“4-H provides our military kids with new opportunities and resources that fit well with their needs,” said Jennifer Morrow, lead youth program assistant for Lackland Youth Programs.

Morrow said more than 800 military youth are currently enrolled in their Pythons, Scorpions, Imagination and School Age 4-H clubs this summer.

“Some of the interests we address through our programing are arts, photography, gardening, cooking, robotics and STEM subjects,” she said. “We also focus on community service programs and projects.”

Morrow said 4-H enrollment increases during the summer.

“We’re able to provide large 4-H summer camps here at the base,” she said. “During the school year, we have our regular on-base 4-H’ers come to the center and participate in the clubs. But during the summer we have a lot of kids who live off base coming into the program as well.”

Morrow reiterated the importance of 4-H’s national and international presence as a means for military youth to retain some continuity if they relocate and also noted its importance as a positive way for young people to discover their interests and shape their future.

“We had one teen who was headed in the wrong direction but got involved in photography and had some success in that area,” she said. “It really changed that person’s entire outlook and made a tremendous impact.”

Morrow said one of the new activities the clubs are getting involved with is the “trashion show” program in which they make wearable items from recycled materials.

“For this program, they have to be creative, interact with other people to get the materials they need and then figure out how to put the item together,” she said. “They also learn a lot about recycling and why it’s important. They enjoy the challenge and are having a lot of fun with that program.”

Tapia said participating in Military 4-H programs allows participants to learn valuable life skills.

“We want to help these young people develop leadership and other skills that will serve them throughout their lifetime,” Tapia said. “We also strive to help these youth learn the importance of character and of being good citizens. 4-H provides military kids with educational and fun activities they can’t get elsewhere and allows them to enjoy those activities in a safe environment.”