4-H and Wenatchee Public Library Announce New Scholastic Club

Chelan-Douglas 4-H, the local wing of America's century-old youth enrichment program, has announced the launch of Clover Club.

Clover Club sounds like just the thing for parents and kiddos in need of some low-stakes brain food. The no-cost, noncommittal scholastic club meets twice monthly at Wenatchee Public Library, in the Sagebrush Meeting Room downstairs.

"Anybody aged five to 18 is invited to join us," says 4-H coordinator Sarah Fitzgerald. "We just ask that anyone younger than eight is accompanied by an adult."

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The club puts on presentations every second and fourth Wednesday. Each presenter is a specialist of a given milieu, be it STEM, agriculture, pediatric mental health or civic engagement. (Those are the 4-H curriculum's focus areas.)

"For example," Fitzgerald says, "we started on Nov. 13 with a science topic. We had a retired science teacher do a really fun and engaging presentation about 'It's alive or isn't it?' It was a discussion about the characteristics of living things and how you define a living organism."

"Coming up in December, we have a staffer with the City of Wenatchee utility department coming to talk about stormwater and its impact on urban spaces."

"Each of these clubs will be led like a 4-H club. We start with the 4-H pledge, followed by a short agenda. The kids act as the officers, taking us through the meeting agenda, leading the pledges and introducing the speakers."

Don't be scared by all this procedural rigor! Again, Clover Club isn't asking for a time commitment. These are children after all - not always the most sure-footed or decisive bunch.

"We're excited for kids who want to come again and again and take a more active role," Fitzgerald says. "But you're also welcome to just give it a try once or see about other ways besides Clover Club to get plugged in."

The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11 from 4 to 5 p.m.