Solano County 4-H Presentation Day: From Bees to Robotic Engineering

Corinne Weber of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club waits for the evaluators at the Solano County 4-H Presentation Day. She won a gold award for her “Steps 4 Rabbit Showmanship, Plus Tips.” (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

VACAVILLE - Fifty-nine Solano County 4-H’ers won gold, or the best-of-the-best for their presentations at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day, held Saturday, Feb. 27 at Willis Jepson Middle School, Vacaville.

The gold winners each received a pin for their 4-H hat and a certificate. They are now eligible to compete at the 4-H Sectional Presentation Day, set March 26 at the University of California, Davis.

They represented nine clubs: Pleasants Valley 4-H Club, Vaca Valley 4-H Club and Elmira 4-H Club, all based in Vacaville; Roving Clovers 4-H Club and Tremont 4-H Club, both of Dixon; Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, Vallejo; Suisun Valley 4-H Club and the Westwind 4-H Club, Fairfield-Suisun, and the Rio Vista 4-H Club.

The Vaca Valley 4-H Club took home 15 gold, including golds for a team of two, and 3 blue; Roving Clovers, 15 gold, including golds for a team of 11; Sherwood, 9 gold and 1 blue; Elmira, 5; Pleasants Valley, 3 gold; Suisun Valley, 3 gold; Tremont, 2 gold; Rio Vista, 2 gold; and Westwind, 1 gold.

Sherwood Forest won the participation award for having the highest percentage of its club members giving presentations. Thirty-eight percent of their total membership participated. Josephine Linan, president of the club, accepted the plaque.

Evaluators scored the displays, presentations and share-the-fun programs and skits for ages 9 through 18. All received either gold (outstanding) or blue (very good) awards.

Projects showcased included honey bees, rabbits, goats, poultry, swine, sheep, guide dogs, table setting, photography, knitting, cooking, robotic engineering and “how to give a presentation” and “how to solve a Rubik’s cube.”

Many brought their rabbits and poultry while Megan Torres, a gold winner from the Sherwood Forest brought her pet rat and gave a presentation on “Rats Eat What?” Gold winner Sam Esperson of the Rio Vista 4-H Club shared a piano piece in his “Play It a Again, Sam!” share-the-fun presentation. Gold winner Elizabeth Williams of the Roving Clovers 4-H Club presented an interpretative reading, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” while gold winner Olivia Wynkoop of the Roving Clovers shared “Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” Josephine Linan of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club won gold for explaining how to give a presentation in her “You Be the Judge of That!”

“Practice does not make perfect,” Linan said. “I don’t use perfect. Practice makes improvement.”

One of the newer projects is the Vaca Valley beekeeping project taught by four-year beekeeper Garry Haddon Jr. Three of the 12 youths enrolled in the beekeeping project gave presentations on bees. His son, Nathaniel, now 9, entered in the primary division (ages 5-8, not judged), gave a display board presentation on honey bees. Two others won gold for their illustration talks in the age division 11-13. Francis Agbayani discussed “Honey Bee Is for Me” and Gianna Guerra, “Why Is Our Bee Population Declining?”

Handing out the awards at the presentation ceremony were California State 4-H Ambassador Lyle Glass, past president of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club; Adele Phillips, president of the Elmira 4-H Cub, ad Maya Prunty, vice president of the Pleasants Valley 4-H Club.

The winners:

Educational Display Talk - Junior (ages 9 to 10):
Caleb Borchers, Vaca Valley, “12 Facts About Netherland Dwarfs,” gold award
Lexi Haddon Mendes, Vaca Valley, “Rabbit Disqualifications,” gold award
Corinne Weber, Vaca Valley, “Steps 4 Rabbit Showmanship Plus Tips,” gold award Hallee Winschell, Vaca Valley, “How to Clean a Wire Rabbit Cage,” gold award

Educational Display Talk - Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Ian Weber, Vaca Valley, “The Many Infections and Diseases of Rabbits,” gold award Madison Farris, Pleasants Valley. “Got a Goat? Now What?” gold award

Educational Display Talk - Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Zoe Sloan, Elmira, “The Three C’s of Photography,” gold award
Marissa Davi, Vaca Valley, “Rabbit Diseases,” gold award

Educational Display Talk - Intermediate (ages 11 to13):
Hailee Souza, Sherwood Forest, “The So-Called Club Foot,” blue award
Christopher Lang, Suisun Valley, “Beyond the Bacon: swine Byproducts,” gold award
Patricia Ackerman, Elmira, “Faeries and Flora,” gold award
Ashlyn Haddon, Vaca Valley. “Snuffles ,” gold award

Educational Display Talk - Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Jordan Burkett, Sherwood Forest, “That Paper’s Twisted,” gold award
Lillie-Ann Sheppard, Vaca Valley, “Rabbits,” blue award
Evelyn Young, Rio Vista, “Decoding Rabbit Genetics,” gold award

Educational Display Talk - Senior (ages 14 to 19):

Allison Hass, Pleasants Valley, “Clipping a Rabbits Teeth,” gold award

Adrianna Haddon, Vaca Valley, “How to Breed Rabbits and Care for Kits,” gold award Emma Ryder, Vaca Valley, “Table Setting for Every Occasion,” gold award
Amber Stavenuiter, Vaca Valley, “Aristocrat of the Fancy The Tan Rabbit Breed,” gold award
Ryan Anenson, Tremont, Robotic Engineering,” gold award

Educational Display Talk, Team - Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Randi Converse and Gabi Converse, Vaca Valley, “The Benefits of Stretching,” gold award

Educational Display Talk, Team - Senior (ages 14 to 19):
Taylor Bianco and Ashley Adams, Vaca Valley, “Cleaning a Pig Pen,” blue award
Quincy Decious and Lauren Bianco, Vaca Valley, “Swine Show Off, How to Show Your Pig at the Fair,” gold award

Illustrated Talk – Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):

Gianna Guerra, Vaca Valley, “Why is our Bee Population Declining?” gold award
Savannah Torres, Sherwood Forest, “Hay, Silly Rabbit,” gold award

Erica Lull, Elmira, “Rooster Spurs,” gold award

Demonstration- Junior (ages 9 to 10):

Julietta Wynholds, Sherwood Forest, “How to Make a Rainbow Loom Pixal Art,” gold award
Madison Meabon, Suisun Valley, “How to Make Fire,” gold award
Trinity Roach, Tremont, “Show Me the Bunny,” gold award

Illustrated Talk - Junior (ages 9 to 10):

Celeste Harrison, Sherwood Forest, “The State of Alabama,” gold award

Demonstration - Junior (ages 9 to 10):
Maya Farris, Pleasants Valley , “Making Monkey Bread,” gold award

Educational Display Talk - Junior (ages 9 – 10 ):
Selah Deuz, Sherwood Forest , “To Halter or Not to.Halter,” gold award

Illustrated Talk - Junior (ages 9 to 10):
Alanna Cahoon, Elmira, “How to Use Essential Oils,” gold award

Demonstration - Senior (ages 14 to 19):

Natalie Greene, Sherwood Forest, “Hello, Cupcake,” gold award
Hallie Newell, Sherwood Forest, “Show me the Bunny: Rabbit Showmanship,” gold award

Illustrated Talk - Senior (ages 14 to 19):
Josephine Linan, Sherwood Forest, “You Be the Judge of That,” gold award
Megan Torres, Sherwood Forest, “Rats Eat What,” gold award

Interpretative Reading – Senior (ages 14 to 19):

Elizabeth Williams, Roving Clovers, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” gold award

Olivia Wynkoop, Roving Clovers, “Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” gold award

Informative Prepared Speech - Senior (ages 14 to 19):
Sam Forbes, Suisun Valley, “Beyond Obedience:Training a Mobility Service Dog,” gold award

Illustrated Talk – Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Jason Williams, Roving Clovers, “3-D 4 U!D 4 U,” gold award

Informative Prepared Speech - Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Kailey Mauldin, Elmira. “Making Lines Human,” gold award

Science or Engineering – Senior (ages 14 to 19):
Tom Zheng, Westwind, “How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube,” gold award

Educational Display - Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Liam Liu, Vaca Valley, “Unicorns of the Sea,” gold award

Cultural Arts – Intermediate (ages 11 to 13):
Sam Esperson, Rio Vista, “Play it Again, Sam! Piano Music,” gold award

Share the Fun Senior (ages 14 to 19):

Natalia Aguayo, Lilya Gardener, Nika Gardner, Audrey Hennigan, Naomi Lipary, Drew Morgan, Ingra Simpson, Lindsay Tryba, Elizabeth Williams, Jason Williams, and Olivia Wynkoop, Roving Clovers, “Pledge Party,” gold award

In between activities, the 4-H’ers made “Cuddle Me Close” cover-up breastfeeding blankets for mothers giving birth at the North Bay Medical Center in a project taught by Audrey Ritchey of Dixon. Since 2013, they have made 1000 blankets, each of which requires one-yard of flannel. The Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) project drew participants as did the “Sugar Shocker Game,” “Easter Cards for Vets” and a biosecurity workshop.

The 4-H Youth Development Program is a non-profit youth educational program administered through the UC Cooperative Extension. In 4-H, youths from ages 5 to 19 learn skills through hands-on learning and have fun doing it, said Valerie Williams, Solano County 4-H program representative. The international organization draws youth from all ethnic, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds who live in rural, suburban, and urban communities. The four H’s in 4-H stand for head, heart, hands, and health.

Age appropriate projects within each club are the heart of 4-H’s hands-on learning. Each project focuses on a topic, anything from A (art) to Z (zoology). Among the many projects: animal sciences, bicycling, camping, computers, drama, entomology, leadership, music, photography, quilting, rocketry, textile arts, and woodworking.

For information on the Solano County 4-H Program, access http://cesolano.ucanr.edu or contact Valerie Williams atvawilliams@ucanr.edu or (707) 784-1319.