4-H teens from throughout New Jersey visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as part of their trip to the National 4-H Agri-Science Summit in Washington D.C. March 10-13, 2022. The 28 teens and six chaperones represented both urban and rural communities from nine counties.
Twenty-eight teens represented the New Jersey 4-H Youth Development Program at the National 4-H Agri-Science Youth Summit held in Washington D.C. in March.
The purpose of the summit was to provide youth with an opportunity to learn about and develop an understanding of the critical role of agricultural science innovation in addressing world food issues. Nearly 350 youth and adults representing 33 states attended the summit. The New Jersey youth were supported by full scholarships in partnership with National 4-H, Corteva Agriscience and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
New Jersey delegates attending the summit included: Emilia Aris, Andrew Cadwallader, Jude Campbell, Christian Chigo, Leela Colley, Kayleen De Matos, Juliana Edokpolor, Ariel Estrada, Kaitlyn Flynn, Erick Garcia, Aracelis Hannah, Mariah Hariram, Jesus Hernandez, Kevin Lopez, Scout Lowrie, Felicia Mahamoody, Gabriela and Susana Mejia, Terique Miller, Gabrielle Napolitano, Jasmine Narine, Prina Patel, Cyrard Phillips, Luis Ramos, Loriann Rego, Anais Rodriguez-Gomez, Ashley Sanchez, Kareena Singh and Sylia Snyder.
Sylia Snyder, lower right, makes flower seed balls with fellow NJ attendees of the National 4-H Agri-Science Summit while Workshop Instructor and NJ Chaperone Daniel Delcher looks on.
Sylia Snyder, a grade 10 student at Cape May County Technical High School in Cape May Court House, enjoyed her experience at the summit. “I think my favorite workshop was ‘Growing with the Planet in Mind.’ We learned how to make seed balls out of paper and flower seeds, and I got to share my ideas on how to start my own garden using recycled containers.”
“The National 4-H AgriScience Summit was an engaging learning and networking opportunity for the 28 New Jersey youth delegates from various regions of the state,” said chaperone and Hudson County 4-H program associate Claudia Urdanivia. “For many of the youth from urban communities, this experience highlighted the many ways that agriculture and food systems are relevant in their lives and how it impacts their communities. In addition to hearing keynote speakers, attending workshops, and meeting youth from across the country, the youth delegates created a community action plan focused on pollinator habitats and bee keeping to engage their peers and communities. This diverse group of youth also made lasting friendships with peers from across New Jersey and plan to continue collaborating through their community action plan and beyond.”
Other New Jersey educators chaperoning the teens included Daniel Delcher and Amarilys Olivo-Mockabee, 4-H volunteers and agricultural science instructors at Essex County Schools of Technology–West Caldwell Tech Campus; Lana Mustafa, 4-H community assistant and director at Montclair Community Farm; Camden County 4-H program assistant Shaquille Sanchez; and Cape May County 4-H program coordinator Linda Horner.
Many of the teens will now carry these ideas forward this year as part of two Lead to Change Projects developed at the summit.
South Jersey teens will participate in a New Jersey 4-H Pollinator Habitat grant from National 4-H Council and Corteva Agriscience. The teens will serve as Pollinator Habitat Ambassadors and will earn community service hours by planting pollinator gardens and educating younger children about the critical importance of pollinators in producing adequate food to feed this nation and the world.
North Jersey teens are pursuing a grant from National 4-H Council that will fund a project to expand urban gardening efforts and beekeeping in urban communities. Like their South Jersey peers, their goal is to increase awareness of the importance of pollinators and find ways to increase pollinator populations.
For more information about the New Jersey 4-H Program visit the website.
