Monthly Archives: September 2014

State 4-H WHEP Contest – Oct 11, 2014

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To: WHEP Team Coaches
Volunteers & Agents interested in learning more about WHEP
This is it… The Official announcement of the VA State 4-H Wildlife Habitat Education Program (WHEP) Contest.
The contest will be held on Saturday October 11, 10:00 a.m. at Holliday Lake State Park in Appomattox. VA (specific location and directions will be sent to those who register teams or register as a visitor). Registration is due no later than Friday, October 3. There will be a cost of $4.00 per car to enter the State Park.
The contest region will be Eastern Deciduous Forest. However, for the species ID portion of the contest, species found in the Urban and Wetlands regions may also be used. Contestants should be familiar with those species for identification purposes. Please refer to the NEW 2014 WHEP Manual as posted at www.whep.org for the most current information which will be used for this contest. There has been a significant change in the manual and contest format.
Contestants, parents, volunteers and anyone else attending must bring their own lunch, snacks, water and chair. Please dress appropriately for the weather. We will be outside regardless of the weather.

1. Beginner Division – first or second year youth who have never competed in a state WHEP contest. Primarily designed for juniors (ages 9-13).

This division will include:
A. Wildlife Challenge – combines wildlife identification and general knowledge. Participants visit stations where they may be presented with a wildlife specimen and questions related to the species. Participants may be asked to identify an animal by specimen or portion of specimen, photo, animal sign, or sound. Alternatively, stations may be located outdoors and questions may be related to various habitat features. Questions for the Wildlife Challenge may be from information within Concepts and Terms, Ecoregions, Wildlife Species, Wildlife Management Practices, and the Glossary.
B. A guided session related to plan writing and wildlife management practices.
C. A hands on field work activity (such as, but not limited to a scavenger hunt for wildlife foods, or building a habitat for a given wildlife species)

2. Junior Division – Full competition for youth ages 9-13. They must have a team of 3 or 4 members to be eligible to compete in the full contest. Individual juniors may compete, however they will only be eligible for the individual awards.

This division will include:
A. Wildlife Challenge – combines wildlife identification and general knowledge. Participants visit stations where they may be presented with a wildlife specimen and questions related to the species. Participants may be asked to identify an animal by specimen or portion of specimen, photo, animal sign, or sound. Alternatively, stations may be located outdoors and questions may be related to various habitat features. When identifying species in the Wildlife Challenge, the correct spelling and capitalization must be used in order to receive credit. Refer to Index of Wildlife Species pages 86-88 for proper spelling and capitalization. Questions for the Wildlife Challenge may be from information within Concepts and Terms, Ecoregions, Wildlife Species, Wildlife Management Practices, and the Glossary. Wildlife food items and questions pertaining to wildlife foods also may be included. Appendix B provides definitions of various wildlife foods. Refer to species descriptions to learn what various species eat.
B. Wildlife Quiz Bowl (the wildlife version of jeopardy) is a fun and exciting event. Teams of 3 – 4 members will compete against each other answering questions which may come from the EASTERN DECIDUOUS FOREST Wildlife Species, EASTERN DECIDUOUS FOREST Region Information, Wildlife Management Practices, Concepts and Terms and the Glossary. This will be a two round competition. Round 1 will be head to head and Round 2 will be toss-up.
C. A guided session related to plan writing and wildlife management practices.

3. Seniors – Full competition for youth ages 14-19. They must have a team of 3 or 4 members to be eligible to compete in the full contest. Individual seniors may compete, however they will only be eligible for the individual awards.

This division will include:
A. Wildlife Challenge – combines wildlife identification and general knowledge. Participants visit stations where they may be presented with a wildlife specimen and questions related to the species. Participants may be asked to identify an animal by specimen or portion of specimen, photo, animal sign, or sound. Alternatively, stations may be located outdoors and questions may be related to various habitat features. When identifying species in the Wildlife Challenge, the correct spelling and capitalization must be used in order to receive credit. Refer to Index of Wildlife pages 86-88 for proper spelling and capitalization. Questions for the Wildlife Challenge may be from information within Concepts and Terms, Ecoregions, Wildlife Species, Wildlife Management Practices, and the Glossary. Wildlife food items and questions pertaining to wildlife foods also may be included. Appendix B provides definitions of various wildlife foods. Refer to species accounts to learn what various species eat.
B. On-Site Recommendation of Wildlife Management Practices (WMPs) – involves the recommendation of WMPs necessary to manage wildlife and habitat on a given site. Management recommendations should consider each species listed separately and WMPs should be recommended as if each species was the only species (focal species) considered on the site. Refer to the WMP charts in the Ecoregions section. This is an individual activity, so no talking or collaboration among team members is allowed.
C. Written Management Plan – is a team event where team members discuss, consider, and provide written recommendations that address current conditions and objectives regarding wildlife populations and habitat on a specified property. A written scenario describing the property, current conditions, and landowner objectives is provided to teams prior to starting the activity. All plans must be written using paragraph format. Teams may use one side of each of three pieces of paper provided. Two of these sheets are for writing the plan, and the third sheet is for sketching a map of the property illustrating where practices should be implemented. An aerial photo of the area may be provided to assist with the sketch.
D. Oral Defense of Written Plan – each team member will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of the plan. Team members are called individually into an area where they are asked a series of questions to test the individual’s knowledge of the team’s plan. Questions can cover anything related to the plan, the focal species, or management practices recommended.

The new 2014 manual that will be used for this contest is on the web at www.whep.org. Please refer to this version of the manual ONLY. Please also note that pages 86-88 have the official listing of the correct spelling and capitalization that will be used as the key for the wildlife ID portion of the contest.

To register for the state contest, please Kelly Mallory (malloryk@vt.edu) the following information no later than Friday, October 3rd. Here is the REGISTRATION LINK: http://tinyurl.com/WHEP2014

Counties may send as many teams and/or individuals as they like. Individuals from different counties may be combined at the contest to make teams.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kelly Mallory
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
VCE-Madison
P.O. Box 10, Madison, VA 22727
Phone (540)948-6881
FAX (540)948-6883
Email: malloryk@vt.edu
http://madison4h.pbworks.com
Madison 4-H News
We are located on Main Street in the War Memorial Building, 2nd Floor
http://www.intra.ext.vt.edu/marketing/images/4H-Folder/centennial/VCEExtClrWeb.jpg

4-H Online

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Hi Everyone,

National 4-H Council is discontinuing ACCESS 4-H mid-year on March 31, 2015. Thus, we are introducing 4HOnline, a new enrollment and data management system to Virginia 4-H. We are pleased to discover many advantages that the new system has over ACCESS 4-H, listed below. We believe that 4HOnline will increase our efficiency and save time at the local level and that 4HOnline will better serve the needs and interests of today’s 4-H youth and families and enhance their 4-H experience. Learn more about 4HOnline here: https://www.4honline.com/ .

ACCESS 4-H will be used for the ES-237 for 2014, which is due October 17, 2014. We will use 4HOnline for the 2014-2015 club year enrollment (October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015). Since, you can’t transfer existing ACCESS 4-H data to 4HOnline, we will not enter our new club year enrollment into ACCESS 4-H.

We will first roll out, the 4HOnline enrollment package, but as you will see in the advantages, 4HOnline has many other options that we will introduce once we are up and running.

Advantages of 4HOnline:
4HOnline is designed for families to enroll themselves. Families set up their account, create a password and enter and manage their own data thus increasing efficiency and saving time on the local level.
4HOnline works well with a dial-up connection. It also works well on iPads, tablets, and smart phones.
Once the data has been entered by the families, Extension agent/staff review the records for accuracy and accept or request changes on the enrollment records.
Volunteer development opportunities through online training modules (orientation and project/curriculum content training) that includes assessments and tracking system with certificates;
4-H age and age divisions automatically calculate for specific projects, events, and competitions based on state guidelines;
Ability to communicate with 4-H members, families, and volunteers (individually and groups) through one-way messaging (text and email);
Volunteer screening tool that will maintain background screening information and document status in the screening process from the State 4-H Office;
Event registration (Congress, camp, competitions, etc.) integrated into system;
Database for online enrollment forms (health history, member enrollment, volunteer enrollment, code of conduct, standards of behavior, equine waiver, adapted forms for youth of military families);
Project animal identification database for qualifying animals, finances, and storage of applicable measurements;
Ability to track 4-H member and volunteer project enrollment, event participation, and award for portfolios and resumes completion;
Online 4-H calendar that promotes county, district, and state events in one integrated system;
Integration of online curriculum, publication, and resource hyperlinks based on project enrollment;
Customizable reports (exportable for Excel, PDF, mailing labels) with grouping and sorting features for individuals, clubs, groups, or events;
· Multiple people can access data at the same time and make appropriate changes;
· Families will be able to enter and manage their own information, look up projects, read newsletters, receive announcements for 4-H events, register for events, and more;
· Very user-friendly;
· Highly customizable to meet our needs;
· Is a proven program which has been used by numerous state 4-H programs.

Things we are working on now:

A transition timeline which will be available within the next two weeks;
Setting up the structure for Virginia 4-H. We are creating the state platform with unit and district information, organized club information, projects, delivery modes, activities and awards so they can be uploaded into the new system.
Setting up a “demo county” for you to go in and enter data and see how the system works.
Adapting materials and resources for face-to-face and online training for Extension professionals and office professionals. Materials include a manual, PowerPoint presentations and video for local units to use when creating their own customized platform.
Creating a 4HOnline webpage in which all messages, links to resources, conference call and training dates will be posted.
Creating a forum, blog to support the local units.
Adapting a brochure and a web-based video that provides step-by-step instructions for leaders and families to enroll.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we make the best of this unexpected transition. In the end, we are confident that we will have a data management system which increases our effectiveness and builds the quality, capacity, and sustainability of the Virginia 4-H program.

Thanks,
Cathy

Cathy M. Sutphin, PhD
Associate Director, 4-H
115 Hutcheson Hall
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-6372