MILFORD: When Jillian Wood was a young girl, she went to the Halifax County Exhibition with her family.
While attending the event, in Middle Musquodoboit, she would see members of local 4-H clubs presenting their projects or with animals that they would be judged on.
That’s where Wood, an Enfield resident, decided she wanted to join a 4-H club and told her mom, and so that led her to join the Shu-Mil 4-H Club.
At Achievement Day on the Milford Rec grounds on July 14, Wood was one of almost 40 participants who were showing off their animals to a judge.
On this day, while they were not being judged as each participant received a ribbon, it was more so they could learn what judges at regional and provincial exhibitions would look for and judge them on.
Wood said she joined 4-H to become more involved with Agriculture, and that has led to her being employed at two dairy farms as a result.
“I always went to the exhibition as a kid and saw all the 4-H people and thought that would be really neat,” she said.
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Wood started on little projects to get involved and that has led to where she is now.
“I got into dairy, and that got me a job and then it helped me later in life with school,” said Wood.
She’s only working in dairy now, but when she was younger, she did crafts; foods; and goats.
4-H encompasses Life Skills such as sewing, Crafts, Photography, Heritage, Scrapbooking and Livestock projects such as Dairy, Beef, Light Horse, Sheep, Dog, Poultry and Goat.
Elliott Nelson, from Shubenacadie, said her calf behaved appropriately which allowed her to have an enjoyable day.
“My calf behaved so that made me really happy,” she said. “I went into the ring with a smile and came out with a smile, which I normally don’t do so that was good for me.”
Lillian McDonald thought her achievement Day went great. She got into 4-H to make new friends and learn new skills.
“I like cows and working with them and just being around them,” said McDonald, of Milford.
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Wood pointed to the fun and new friendships one can make as a reason for anyone thinking about joining 4-H to do so.
“It opens a lot of opportunities,” said Wood. ‘You get to make friends, learn so much with life skills and being patient in life, and it helps in other ways like in school.
“It shows you other careers that are possible and that people do. It really helps with getting involved in that stuff.”
She recommends anyone thinking about joining to give 4-H a try.
“It showed me a lot, and it made me get involved in a lot of other stuff,” said Wood. “It broadened my horizon. It’s a whole unique experience.”
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