Local Programs

4-H Jr. Summer Camp

Jamestown 4-H Center also has specialty weekend camps throughout the year for youth ages 5-13 with counseling opportunities for older youth. Visit Jamestown on the web at www.jamestown4hcenter.org

4-H Clubs in Gloucester

Typically 4-H clubs meet once a month. They provide lots of fun learning experiences while building leadership and citizenship skills through work on 4-H projects and community service.

Call (804) 693-2602 for information about joining a club, volunteering, and starting new clubs.

4-H Club Descriptions

Gloucester 4-H Horse Club 

Open to youth aged 9-18. Learn all about horses, participate in horse education contests and riding events.

4-H Animal Science Club

Open to youth aged 9-18. Explore a variety of animal science activities and projects related to your chosen animal.

Cloverbud's 

Open to youth aged 5-8 (cannot turn 9 within the current 4-H year). Explore the treasures of 4-H through crafts, nature and community service projects. 

4-H Peer Teacher/Jr. Interpreter Program

2024 APPLICATION PERIOD IS CLOSED

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Pressure Canner Guage Testing

Three Things to Know about Well Water

1. We’ve heard a lot about lead and other metals in drinking water recently, but what you may not know is that it is incredible rare for these metals to be naturally found in groundwater. Instead, water that is either too low in pH, and/or has other corrosive elements, is leaching the metal from plumbing components. The water doesn’t have to be all that corrosive or acidic to leach metals either, it’s generally recommended that drinking water have pH above 6.5 to prevent corrosion, which means regular rain water is more than acidic enough to leach metals from your pipes!

2. There are quite a few different sources of potential contaminants to drinking water; surface contaminants could be getting into your drinking water, especially if the well head or grouting is not well maintained, metals could be leached from your plumbing, sodium may be added from your softener, and many contaminants come naturally from the groundwater if they aren’t addressed with treatment devices.

3. How often should you test your drinking water? Generally, it’s recommended to test for bacteria annually, and do more comprehensive tests every three years or so, including testing for pH, total dissolved solids and other local concerns. Testing is particularly important since some of the contaminants most detrimental to your health (E. coli, nitrates, lead, among others), may be at high enough levels to cause serious health issues without you ever noticing a different smell, taste, or appearance.

The Family Nutrition Program’s mission is to teach limited-resource families and youth how to make healthier food choices and become better managers of available food resources for optimal health and growth. Our programs focus on basic nutrition, physical activity, safe food handling, and thrifty food shopping.

The Family Nutrition Program is offered through Virginia Cooperative Extension, an educational outreach partnership between Virginia Tech and Virginia State University.

Our funding comes from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to offer the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to offer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) in Virginia.

The Family Nutrition Program offers a range of programs to teach the basics of healthy eating, active living, food safety, and menu planning on a budget.

If you are interested in signing up for one of these programs or would like to work with the Family Nutrition Program to offer these programs in your organization, please contact Elizabeth Hayes at (804) 693-2602.

SUBMIT A QUESTION TO THE

GLOUCESTER MASTER GARDENERS HERE

Our mission as trained volunteers in partnership with the Gloucester County, Virginia Cooperative Extension, is to provide horticultural educational opportunities to the public, through research-based horticultural education programs and activities to enhance the environment and lives of residents in our community.

Become a Master Gardener HERE

Upcoming Master Gardener Events: 

 Master Gardeners Present at Brent and Becky’s Bulbs

The Gloucester Master Gardeners will present informative programs throughout the year. These gardening presentations will be at Brent and Becky’s in the Chesapeake Room at 10:00 a.m. No registration is required and programs are FREE. 

Join us for :

2025 Dates & Topics coming soon!

Other Upcoming Events

Winter Library Series: Blue Birds

Wednesday, January 8, 2025- Main Street Library    

RESOURCES:

Home Gardening in Gloucester   

Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide    

VTechWorks (VCE) Publications Database   (search by topic to pull up publications)

Engaging with Communities

Virginia Cooperative Extension specialists in community viability work with Extension agents, campus-based faculty, organizational partners, communities, and individuals to further opportunity and build capacity in five program areas:   

• Leadership & Planning
• Community Enterprise and Resiliency
• Community Food System and Enterprises
• Community Planning
• Emerging Community Issues

Examples of our work include training county elected officials, educating entrepreneurs, facilitating collaborative projects, supporting the growth of community food systems and local economies, enhancing agent skills and community capacity in facilitation and leadership, conducting problem-driven research, and creating publications and tools that address critical community needs.

Do you have a question about Community Viability?

Perhaps one of the Community Viability specialists below can help you. Contact a Community Viability specialist or direct a question to them using our Ask an Expertsystem.

Community Viability Specialists

• See a list of our Community Viability Specialists