All are welcome on January 25, when a plaque commemorating 106 years of the 4-H youth development program in Hawaiʻi will be dedicated on Maui near the site of the state’s first 4-H club. Past participants and their families are encouraged to share their Hawaiʻi 4-H stories.

This summer, youths across the state learned and cooked their way through “4-H Camp Kau Kau,” a new week-long summer culinary camp from CTAHR’s 4-H Youth Development Program. Recipes and lessons focused on the context and diversity of local food in Hawai‘i, with hands-on cooking experiences and educational activities about Hawai‘i’s food and agricultural history.

Back in the day, the Waialeʻe Livestock Research Station was a true community resource for Oahu’s North Shore. The sprawling facility, a stone’s throw from today’s surfing mecca, once provided invaluable services as the area’s primary abattoir and center for livestock feed and harvesting research. 

In response to the wildfire disasters in Lahaina and Kula, Maui 4-H quickly organized a statewide disaster response training – Hawai‘i’s first-ever event tailored specifically for teens. With 110 high school students from every Hawaiian island gathering at Baldwin H.S. in Wailuku, and a program based on the national Community Emergency Response Team administered by FEMA, it was a rare and valuable opportunity to both train for emergencies and discuss ways to contribute to the long-term disaster recovery process and future disaster planning.

Since 1947, the 4-H Ahaolelo (“gathering for a meeting”) has brought together 4-H’ers from throughout Hawai‘i, as well as Canada, Guam, California, Micronesia, and Japan. As the Ahaolelo website explains, “The 4-H Ahaolelo is rich in tradition. The week of ‘coming together’ has played an important part in the development of 4-H in Hawaii. The 4-H Ahaolelo provides opportunities to make friends and exchange ideas.”