Four Southeast Area 4-H members experienced life in rural eastern New York
In July 2022, Otero County 4-H member, Jennifer Gardner; Kiowa County 4-H members, Clayton and Alexa Nelson; and Baca County 4-H member, Bryann Forrest, hosted youth from Renssaeler County, New York. Chaperoned by 4-H Specialists, Tiana Garcia and Marlena Griesse, the group then traveled to New York to spend July 9-17, 2023, in the homes of the youth they had hosted.
The Colorado and New York 4-H members kept in touch throughout the year and seeing each other again was one of the many highlights of the trip. Kicking off the week, the youth got reacquainted as a group at Colonies Park in Albany, before heading home with their families.
Throughout the week, the youth had family time where they spent time learning about life and culture in rural New York, as well as participating in fun activities such as trips to Vermont and Massachusetts, Saratoga Race Course, Hancock Shaker Village, and Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, fishing, and eating lots of local ice cream.
In addition to the family time, the Renssaeler County 4-H families and staff planned several group activities. The first activity was a series of farm tours, highlighting the local agricultural economy and how they have adapted to meet modern challenges such as the decline of smaller, family-owned dairy farms.
The tours included Hoosac Valley Farmer’s Exchange, Victory View Vineyard, Copses Dairy, and the Tiashoke Farm Store.
On July 12th, the group toured the New York Capitol in Albany and met with Assemblyman, Phil Steck, on the floor of the Assembly.
July 13th found the group in Manhattan where they walked the High Line, searched for cows in the Meatpacking District and visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
On July 14th, the youth and families traveled to Lake George and took a cruise around the lake on the Minne-Ha-Ha steamboat.
To finish out the week, the New York families hosted a BBQ and swimming and youth reflected on what they had learned during the two-year exchange.
There were, of course, many differences between rural New York and rural Colorado, but in the end, the youth found that many things are similar. Their families faced many of the same challenges of keeping up in a changing agricultural economy, but also shared the same rural values and appreciation of agricultural life.
