With summer officially coming soon, a group of 4-H’ers had fun making bags for future trips to the beach. A lot of them were probably surprised that something useful could be made from an old T-Shirt.

Sampson County Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program kicked off its 2018 Sampson County 4-H Summer Workshops. Elizabeth Merrill, program assistant, led the Monday session, “Trash to Treasure.”

The first workshop of the season taught students how to make crafts out of recyclable stuff. Some of it included cans and egg cartons. Scratched-up CDs were also used to make wind chimes.

“A lot of these crafts are objects that we can find at home or stuff that we’ll normally throw away,” Merrill said.

The goal is to enter items in the North Carolina State Fair in the fall. About 60 youths registered for the summer series. Some of the upcoming workshops include overnight camping experience at the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park in June, cooking classes and other agriculture experiences such as visiting Beartrack Farms in Turkey. Another highlight is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) camp which is being held in July.

“We had a pretty good turnout,” she said about the number of participants.

Genny Thompson, extension agent for 4-H Youth Development, was also pleased with the turnout.

“Each year, I hope we can do more and more to get kids involved,” Thompson said.

Although registration for the workshop series is full, Merrill stressed that there’s still other programs for youths to become involved with.

“We relatively amazing turnout for our summer this year,” she said. “However, we do have other activities in 4-H. It’s not too late to get in on the action for Sampson County 4-H

One of the upcoming activities making a return in August is 4-H Iron Chef, which gives participants a chance to using their cooking skills in a variety of categories including breads, meats, dairy, vegetables, and dessert dishes. Merrill said youths are invited to make their favorite dish or have their parents teach them how to make it.

“They will be judged on food safety, how well they cooked it and how well they prepared it,” she said. “They’ll actually be quizzed a little bit on the food itself.

Becoming a member of Sampson County’s 4-H is free and registration is available online at www.bit.ly/2HFlR9M. For more information regarding registration, Thompson at 910-592-7161 or by email at [email protected]. Merrill, may be reached by email at [email protected].

Aubrey Herring, Olivia Pope and Ansley Herring make crafts during the first workshop series for the summer.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_FourH_2.jpgAubrey Herring, Olivia Pope and Ansley Herring make crafts during the first workshop series for the summer.

Gracie McDonald and Rylie McDonald make bags out of old T-shirts.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_FourH_1.jpgGracie McDonald and Rylie McDonald make bags out of old T-shirts.
Cooperative Extension kicks off workshops

By Chase Jordan

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Reach Chase Jordan at 910-249-4617. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.