Through Burlingame-San Mateo

Laying Hens is a great project for younger and new members who want to participate in the farm, but with lower responsibility! The club buys 20-30 baby chicks, and we raise them at the farm to "pullet size"; this is the age just before they start to lay eggs. This takes about 3-4 months, and we raise 2-3 batches of chickens each year. The pullets are then sold to the Peninsula Feed Store as a fundraiser for our club; the store then sells the hens to farmers and backyard chicken keepers. Our hens are prized as they are very friendly after being handled by children so often! A few chickens may also be kept for show chickens for the county fair (members who wish to do this will need to also join the poultry project, will need to care for their show chicken daily, and will need to rehome them at the end of the school year.)

Laying Hens members are on a weekly rotation to care for the baby chicks, which makes it a very nice "introduction to the farm" project. As with other farm projects, youth must participate in farm chores during cleanup days to keep our farm looking beautiful. Meetings will be held when the chicks arrive and when they leave.

Any age may participate; this project is especially popular for new members as it is a low-effort way to start getting involved with the farm.

Many projects and activities in 4-H are designed for older youth, but this one is explicitly for the members 5-8 years old! The project meets monthly and has age-appropriate activities to engage with the community, encourage healthy living, and discover the projects availabie in 4-H. Activities throughout the curriculum focus on the following four topics: Knowing Me, Knowing My Family, Knowing 4-H and Knowing My Community. There will also be activities during some business meetings so that younger members can avoid budget discussions. This is a great way to meet other new 4-Hers, have fun, and learn more about the club.

This project is designed to be taken each year for up to 4 years, with new activities every year. Upon completion, members will receive an iSprout pin for their hat.

Meetings will mostly be on the weekends, but may move time and location based on the activity each month.

Through Burlingame-San Mateo

Learn how to care for and raise a rabbit. You’ll learn about what different kinds of rabbits there are, what they eat, their anatomy; we’ll visit a rabbit expert, and a rabbit breeder’s competition. This project goes through May.

Rabbits are kept at home, not at the farm. Rabbits may be shown at the County Fair.

Members will meet monthly to learn about different types of public speaking, practice their skills, and workshop a presentation to give at Presentation Day in February. Gold medal winners will continue to Regionals and even to State! In the second half of the year, we'll get further practice and explore impromptu speeches. 

This project is open to members of any age. Meetings are held on the 1st Saturday of the month at 9:30am. There are no additional fees.

Learn to cast on and off and the knitting stitch. We can do pearl when you are comfortable with knitting. You could learn to knit by making a pincushion and then you can create your own scarf. You learn how to use different types of yarn and how different size needles make different types of stitches resulting in a variety of projects. You will need to bring needles and yarn and work on your project at home in between meeting times. Projects can be submitted for Life Skills Festival in April and to the County Fair in June.

Members will hike at a variety of local trails beginning with shorter, easy hikes and gradually advancing to moderately difficult hikes. You will learn how to prepare for a hike and Leave No Trace Principles. A docent-led nature walk will also be scheduled in order to learn more about local plants and wildlife. 

Each meeting will be around 2 hours depending on length of the hike. The beginning of each meeting will be dedicated to introductions/icebreaker as well as going over expectations. Members may also propose and plan a hike which will require some work at home to develop their skills in planning and preparing for a group hike.

3rd weekend of the month, alternating Saturday and Sunday. Time based on weather and location. Hikes will most likely be in San Mateo County Parks. Any age welcome.

You will learn and practice basic sewing skills while making garments and other items before Fashion Revue in late April. You will gather your tools and materials for the project, and may use my machines. Projects can be submitted for the Fashion Revue in April and to the County Fair in June.

Through Burlingame-San Mateo

In the crafts project, we will be learning about different crafts and techniques. We are aiming to sell crafts at the December Craft Fair and showcase our products at the June County Fair and the Life Skills Festival that takes place in spring. 

Through Burlingame-San Mateo

Learn to cook a feast, starting from the basics! Members will get practice before submitting entries to Favorite Foods Day in April and the County Fair in June.

This project is open to members of all ages. 

The new garden beds are finally completed! The gardening project resumes in Fall 2024, with 8 large raised beds.

This project is open to members of all ages. Meetings are on the first Saturday of the month, 3-5pm, at the farm.

Our farm animals make so much manure! What to do with it? Turn it into compost for our garden! Members will join our Master Composter to learn how we take stinky stuff and turn it into healthy dirt for our plants up at the farm. During the compost meetings, we will learn the basics of how to build and maintain piles. We will study by experience what happens with the compost piles as we add new ingredients, turn the piles, and water. We will learn how to keep our piles hot and how to avoid stinky messes. Turning compost piles is a good workout, so participants should also expect an opportunity to get outdoors and get some good exercise.

This project are open to members of all ages. Meetings are on the first Saturday of the month, 3-5pm, at the farm. Any member who wishes to add manure to the beds must take Composting.

Offered through Cañada/Redwood City

If you like to be outdoors, this is an opportunity for youth to be outside and learn how to safely operate and maintain archery equipment. Youth will practice shooting at targets and will have the opportunity to enter in shooting competitions. This project is designed for both beginners and advanced archers.

Open to only 9 years+. Meetings will be held at Elkus Ranch in Half Moon Bay. Space limited.

Offered through Cañada/Redwood City

Join this project to learn how a car works and drive remote control cars.  Youth will also build an RC car as a group.

Open to only 9 years+.