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4-H Extension COVID-19 timeframe
Putnam County 4-H, local Extension youth development and adult programming opportunities continue to roll despite the COVID-19 pause.
In fact, in many situations, there are actually more programs as there has been more time spent delivering programs and less time spent on the semantics of venues and other details that go into having a physical meeting location.
We do want to continue our education outreach during this time as best as possible. Our website and Purdue Extension Putnam County social media sites have new material being posted nearly daily. 4-H volunteers are doing a wonderful job of providing recorded videos and live discussions.
Seasoned 4-H youth are also contributing with short videos to help their younger peers. Recently for example, programs like “Safe Food Handling,” “Plants Poisonous to Livestock,” “Interpreting Soil Test Results for Soil Health,” “10 Secrets to Savvy Grocery Shopping” as well as numerous other shared webinars have been offered by Extension Educators. Several 4-H clubs are meeting online and youth are enjoying the ability to connect in this way with others across the county.
In fact, a Junior Leader meeting last week certainly taught youth work readiness skills in using web-based programming as youth led the meeting.
While all Extension staff are working remotely, our phones are set up such that calls will be transferred to an individual’s personal phone and we can check voice mail at the office remotely as well. As always, Extension staff will be available via email as well.
Additionally, Purdue University which oversees the local 4-H program and county Extension programming has set the following timeline to determine the status of events. The date of April 15 will be the date that protocol for events and programs in June will be determined. The date of May 15 will be the date that the protocol for events and programs in July will be determined.
Additionally, all livestock enrollment and submission of DNA samples for the Indiana State Fair shows has been pushed back to June 1. This year, 4-H families will be inserting their own livestock tags as there will be no sheep/goat tagging day. As we learn more about upcoming protocol, 4-H families exhibiting livestock will receive email/text using their 4honline enrollment information.
Visit www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or contact the local Purdue Extension Office by calling 653-8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. It is always best to call first and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time.
Upcoming events
April 14 – Kitchen Hacks: Making the Most of Your Appliances - Using Cast Iron, 2-3 p.m., join via https://bit.ly/2v0lGoX
April 14 – Online Marketing Strategies with Low Budgets - Social Media 101 Webinar, 1 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/y83ma4k4
April 16 – Gardening Tips for Everyone – A Glance at Pest Management, 1 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/garden4everyone
April 21 – Online Marketing Strategies with Low Budgets - Saving Time Using Social Media Strategies, 1 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/y83ma4k4
April 23 – Gardening Tips for Everyone – Tips for Spring Crops, 1 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/garden4everyone
April 30 – Gardening Tips for Everyone - The 4-1-1 on Warm Season Crops, 1 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/garden4everyone