4-H Clubs Adjust Focus to Technology

It's time again for the Maryland State Fair and normally local 4-H clubs would be competing at the fair or volunteering.

Yet over the years the 4-H program has had to change because of the lack of agricultural emphasis in urban areas and instead they've begun to focus on science and technology.

Shante Stokes, who is an extension educator with the University of Maryland that coordinators 4-H youth development in Prince George's County, said the group hopes to start a program in Riverdale Park soon. Stokes met with a Riverdale Park subcommittee Monday to discuss youth programs in town.

"We still have a lot of agricultural and animal science programs," she said, "but we've also begun to promote science, technology, engineering and math."

She said she hopes to boost minority participation in these fields and since the group's involvement; minorities are 50 percent more likely to take up a career in those fields.

Currently, Stokes works in the Center for Educational Partnership off Sheridan Street in Riverdale Heights.

There she works with groups like AmeriCorps to educate students in the summer and afterschool programs.

She said there are many successful 4-H programs in the area in Fort Washington and Landover.

"In Fort Washington, we work with an elementary school that during an aftercare program they do arts and crafts and service learning," she said."

The group in Landover focuses on teen leaderships and some of the teens are counselors during the summer.

She said at the Center of Educational Partnership, 4-H helped facilitate programs in regards to gardening and nutrition.

The center has a community garden where on Friday, students from UMD's College Park Scholars program were sprucing up, along with the center's bike shop.

"We're hoping to create more partnerships between UMD and the community," Stokes said.

As a part of her job with the university, she works with students in the agriculture and horticulture program as well as the family consumer science program.

"We're out of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources," she said. "All of our work is to reach out to families."

She hopes to create an environmental program in the future as well.

Stokes said the group wants to work with William Wirt Middle School this year as a part of the groups robotics program.

Wirt Middle's Principal Prentice Christian told Patch in an earlier interview that the school had a successful STEM program last year. STEM is a program that allows students to focus on science, technology, engineering and math – hopefully leading to careers in those fields.

"We don't have any programs at the Maryland State Fair this year," she said. "But we're looking forward to National 4-H Science Day this October."