Cloverbuds learn life sciences while enjoying nature and art
A 4-H Cloverbud is a 4-H member who is in kindergarten through second grade. Cloverbuds explore and learn by doing fun, age-appropriate activities guided by adult and teen volunteers. In Grant County, Extension is growing the Cloverbud program, with special activity days and enhanced volunteer training. Activities are fun, positive and non-competitive, emphasizing cooperative learning and developing life skills through the experiential learning cycle.
For example, the Herman-Norcross Afterschool 4-H Club members first learned about the life cycle of a tree, then went on a nature walk to collect fallen leaves and then cut the leaves into different shapes to create a larger mosaic of a giant leaf!
Older youth in Grant County 4-H often take on leadership roles, helping with Cloverbuds and mentoring them as they move forward into project areas as they grow out of their Cloverbud years.
Highlights
- The Growing Grant County project is assisted by Extension staff focusing on food safety and safe food handling practices.
- Extension has conducted a small grains pest and disease field survey in western Minnesota, including Grant County, in collaboration with North Dakota State University. This effort has been funded by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council through wheat check-off dollars to inform producers and the research community of the presence of disease and pests.
- An Extension educator engaged the local Extension advisory group in
a discussion of local economic data that will help them make decisions on investments. - U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Marks family farm grows a mix of corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. They also have cattle in their pastures. Andrew has served on the Grant County Soil and Water board for five years and has grown more involved in 4-H as his girls dive into showing livestock, including goats.
- Extension provides financial capability education for participants in the judicial district’s treatment courts, including adult and juvenile drug courts, and courts for mental health, veterans, family dependency and DWI/DUI.
- In collaboration with West Central Initiative, the Climate Adaptation Partnership enabled the creation of a new staff position focused on community preparedness and resiliency.
Grant County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Grant County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.