We have spent so much time talking about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected agriculture. It is a big topic, but we are not the only ones who have had their worlds turned upside down. It did not hit me until earlier in the week, but suddenly I started thinking about what 4-H students are doing through this. They have a lot riding on summer being normal for them.
Audio: Full Interview with Iowa State 4-H Director Debbie Nistler
In a normal year, they are gearing up for county fair season and putting the finishing touches on their projects and livestock. I wondered how the kids are handling having to prepare for events that may not happen. Are they still meeting? How are the kids taking all this?
I spoke with Debbie Nistler, State Program Director for Iowa 4-H. She tells me the kids are doing great. They are letting this little pandemic inconvenience them at all.
Nistler says in some Iowa locations, they are doing much as they do during a normal year, just now handling it virtually. This includes project lessons, livestock projects, and even virtual dog obedience. (I wonder where I sign my dog up for virtual lessons?)
Nistler says with all the uncertainty, they are still encouraging their kids to keep moving forward on their projects. She says it is the culmination of a lot of hard work, and they will get to share that work one way or another.
Service is still at the core of what they are teaching the students. Nistler tells us how Iowa 4-H kids completed a ?10,000 mask? project with help from JOANN Fabrics, and they did it only nine days. Now, they are making it a ?25,000 mask? project.
Nistler says they can teach the kids an important life lesson in all of this. To look to the future, to serve your community, and to reach inside yourself and do something positive for those around you. It is a good reminder for us adults as well.
Do what you can to encourage and engage our youth through all of this. For most, this is going to be the first big event of their lives. We must show them they are capable of being at their best when people need each other most.
