Tuesday, October 20, 2015

4-H Club to be Organized in Altadena, First Meeting is Tonight

4-H is coming to the foothills! Tuesday, October 20 will be the first, organizational meeting for a new 4-H Club, to be based in Altadena. The meeting will be held at the Main Altadena Library Barbara J. Pearson Community Room, beginning at 6:45 p.m.

Altadena residents Lynette Wiebe and Meredith McKenzie have been working over the past few months getting the foundation ready for this boys and girls club to open its doors.

“I am one of those many Altadenans who loves her garden, her chickens and her children,” states Wiebe on why she wanted to start a 4-H Club here. “My husband and I moved up here in 2013 and dove right in to the urban agriculture thing. And our kids love it too!” But it isn’t always obvious how to connect families and interests.

That’s where 4-H comes in. Started in the American Midwest in the early 20th century, 4-H touts itself as “the nation’s largest youth-development organization.”

Although many urbanites haven’t heard of 4-H, it has been a path for skill-building and leadership for generations. 4-H is focused on being hands-on and to “learn by doing.” Kids learn about cooking, gardening, horses, even showing goats at the county fair, among a myriad of other homey project topics. The club is youth-led while knowledgeable adults in the community provide guidance.

”Given Altadena’s long agricultural and ranchito heritage, we are happy to help revive 4-H in our community, where it was once a very popular organization for our youth,” adds McKenzie.

One of the most important goals Wiebe and McKenzie want to achieve is to build on the local sense of community.

“We have this incredible, rich and diverse place in Altadena, yet the common thread among our differences seems to be love for doing it yourself, your way. There are so many people of different walks of life raising food, animals and using their hands,” according to Wiebe.

Backyard barn horse owner McKenzie adds, “Altadena’s large residential lots and horse culture makes the ideal location for 4-H to flourish and help our youth raise food and animals while developing their leadership skills. We are so excited to get this club going!”

For more information about 4-H, visit the organization’s national website at www.4-h.org.

For more about tonight’s meeting, email Lynette Wiebe at lynettewiebe@gmail.com.