2025 NH 4-H Volunteer Leaders Conference

Your Fair Season Checklist: Exhibiting animals at the fair is one of the things 4-H is best known for, and getting to the fair takes a village! In this session Hannah Majewski, NH 4-H Animal Science Field Specialist, will share the NH 4-H guidelines and policies for 4-H animal exhibitors, and share activities with volunteers about how to prepare their 4-H members for the show season. Time will be spent additionally discussing best biosecurity practices, and requirements to travel with animals.

4-H Shooting Sports - How to Build a Successful Program: 4-H Shooting Sports is a hands-on Project for youth and adult audiences.  The curriculum is designed to assist youth in positive development, establish a personal environmental ethic, and explore life-long vocational and leisure activities.  Participants in this program will enjoy many opportunities from the local level to national events.  In this workshop, you will receive specific guidance for the NH 4-H Shooting Sports program.  Specifically, the purpose will be to outline requirements for youth and volunteers to create and implement 4-H Shooting Sports clubs and events in their community.

Let's Climb Together: The Rungs of Youth-Adult Partnership: Have you been wondering how to increase youth voice... or if you can? Using a model called Hart's Ladder we will climb the rungs of participation together. Hart's Ladder is a visual representation of increasing decision-making and agency in youth participation that can be difficult to find a balance with. By engaging in a hands-on group activity, reflection, and discussion every volunteer and staff member will leave with ideas and next steps on how to increase authentic partnership with their young people

Empowering 4-H Youth to Create Impactful Community Projects: Discover how 4-H youth and clubs can transform their ideas, needs, and interests into meaningful community projects. Whether it's through bicycles, pumpkins, or other innovative initiatives, this session will equip you with the tools and strategies to guide youth in making a real difference. Designed for 4-H leaders and anyone passionate about youth empowerment, this workshop will provide practical solutions for launching new projects or enhancing existing ones. Learn how to inspire young people to take action, develop leadership skills, and create positive change in their communities. Join us for an engaging session filled with valuable insights and actionable takeaways!

Saturday Session 2

Providing for your Local Community: Join us for an engaging workshop on the Plant A Row initiative, a hands-on neighbor-helping-neighbor program that began in 2020 during the pandemic. This initiative encourages participating households to grow an extra row or container of fresh, local produce to donate to a local food pantry or to supplement their own need for fresh greens. It's as simple as Plant - Grow - Donate.

Hovering Parents? Strategies to Involve Parents in the 4-H Program and Club: This session aims to equip you with the tools and knowledge to effectively engage and support families new to the 4-H program. By fostering a collaborative environment, we will explore strategies to help families understand the power of learning by doing, ensuring both emotional and physical safety for all participants.  This workshop is ideal for 4-H Volunteer Leaders who are looking to enhance their skills in working with families, particularly those new to the program. Whether you're dealing with challenging family dynamics or seeking to improve overall family engagement, this session will provide valuable insights and practical solutions.

All Terrain Learning Adventures Nature-Based Wellness Program: All-Terrain Learning Adventures (ATLAS) is a nature-based mental wellness program brought to area school districts through a partnership with the Southeast Land Trust (SELT) of New Hampshire and the University of New Hampshire Extension’s 4-H Youth Development and Education and Health & Well-Being Teams. Through this partnership, we’ve engaged two school districts (Kindergarten through eighth grade) and multiple families in utilizing our county’s protected wild spaces to engage in hands-on learning that fosters social and emotional wellbeing for school-aged children. Participants will gain an understanding of how nature-based education has a place in mental health and wellness. They will see how partnerships within their university's faculty, area school districts, and local organizations can provide access to more community-based opportunities for holistic learning.

Wild World of Rube Goldberg Machines: Explore the crazy and creative world of Rube Goldberg Machines in this workshop with UNH’s Young Inventors’ Program. This K-12 project-based curriculum provides a hands-on STEM experience to lead students in building their own chain reaction machine to perform a simple task in a complex and comical way. Along the journey, students will learn about simple machines, forces and cause and effect relationships in addition to building critical problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. This workshop will introduce you to the wild world of Rube Goldberg Machines and provide you with all of the tools and resources you need to support students to create contraptions to be showcased in statewide events such as the NH 4-H State Makers Expo Competition and the Northern New England Invention Convention at UNH.

Saturday Session 3

Apple Cider: Blossom to Bottle: Apple cider has a rich history in the United States, dating back to colonization. While the story of Johnny Appleseed is an embellished legend, the roots of the story run deep. John Chapman truly did blanket the Ohio Valley, spreading the apple gospel and apple trees. In this hands on-minds on program, not only will we learn about the seedy history of apple cider across the developing country, but we'll also try our hand at making some. Learn what it takes from bud, to blossom, to fruit, to the lovely falltime elixir. We'll take a deep dive into the who, what, where, when, hows, and whys of cider making while enjoying the process of making this fall tradition.

Beyond Ready: Cultivating Positive Youth-Adult Partnerships for Impact: In this engaging workshop, participants will learn how youth-adult partnerships can drive real community change through collaboration, shared decision-making, and empowerment. Led by New Hampshire 4-H teens and their adult mentors, the session will explore the benefits of youth involvement, effective communication skills, and inclusive decision-making processes. Participants will discover how youth can identify key community issues, design impactful projects, and develop leadership skills. Through inspiring stories and concrete examples, teens and adults will share how working as equal partners created lasting, positive change in their communities, equipping attendees with the tools to foster similar collaborations in their own contexts.

Star Parties: How to Plan Them and How to Have Fun!: This workshop will provide tips and advice for planning and running your own neighborhood or regional star party. We will focus on finding your way around the sky and we will cover some easy hands-on activities that will make your participants beg for more. We will discuss constellations and how the constellations we see after sunset in the fall are different from the constellations we see after sunset in the spring. We will also explore which planets will grace our skies this coming spring and summer.

Sunday Session 1

Animal Science Round Table: This will be a space for Animal Science volunteers will have the opportunity to share club activities they have done, learn new ones to take back to their club, and share ideas they have.  If there is enough participation, the group will be divided by species!

Sewn Circuits - Stitching Together STEM & Textiles: Sewn circuits explores ways to combine tech and fashion by combining a sewing project with simple circuits to add lights and other simple electronics. We will explore ways to combine art and fashion with STEM by using conductive thread to sew LED lights to make a decorative felt mask. This activity can be done by anyone with basic sewing skills and serves as a starting point that can open a world of possibility in technical textile projects. Participants will learn the science of a basic electrical circuit, some sewing basics, the design process and strategies for sharing this activity with youth.

Empowering 4-H Leaders - Building Strong Clubs and Inspiring Youth: Join us for a comprehensive workshop designed to support the growth and sustainability of 4-H clubs. This session will cover essential topics for transitioning club leadership, getting new leaders started, harnessing the enthusiasm of youth to create meaningful projects, and understanding the core elements of a successful 4-H club.

Coffee with Kate & Wade: Join NH 4-H Leadership for coffee to chat about what is happening around the state and answer any NH 4-H questions you may have.

Sunday Session 2:

Communication & Zsuite: Join us for an informative workshop on using Zsuites to enhance communication with 4-H members and their families. This session will explore the various features of Zsuites, including calendars, events, club documents, file sharing, and announcements, to streamline and improve your club's communication efforts. This workshop is perfect for 4-H leaders and anyone responsible for managing communication within a 4-H club. Whether you are new to Zsuites or want to improve your current usage, this session will offer valuable insights and practical solutions.

NH 4-H Introduces "Learn Everywhere": In partnership with the NH Department of Education, NH 4-H members can now earn credit towards their high school diploma through their 4-H project work! The 4-H team will be piloting the “Learn Everywhere” program with 4-H members in livestock project areas in hopes of expanding into other projects in the future. Volunteers with high school-aged 4-H members in the animal sciences are encouraged to attend the session to learn about this new initiative and how to get their youth involved.

4-H Presents 101: Join us for an informative workshop designed for 4-H volunteers to learn about NH 4-H Presentation Day, an annual event in New Hampshire where 4-H members showcase their knowledge and presentation skills. This event provides a valuable opportunity for youth to build confidence and practice public speaking.

WildSide Challenges & Neurodivergent Youth: Description Coming Soon

Reserve your room today!

There are many places to stay in the Plymouth, NH, region.

The Common Man Inn & Spa is the closest and has a block of rooms held until February 12th. Rates start at $225/night.  When you call to reserve your room, please make sure to say that you will be attending the 4-H Volunteer Conference to get one of the blocked rooms. 

The Fairfield Inn by Marriott Plymouth White Mountains is a 5-minute drive to The Common Man Inn and Spa, and has a block of rooms held until February 25th.  Rates start at $149/night, use this link to book your room.