2025 Summer Fun Program

Buncombe County 4-H is excited to offer a wide variety of summer learning opportunities for youth in 2025! We have 10 different day camps and other opportunities for youth ages 5-18 during the months of June - August. Space is limited for each camp, so register early to reserve your spot!

4-H Presentation 101 Workshop

4-H Presentations are a huge part of North Carolina 4-H. It is one of the most successful ways to help a young person learn public speaking skills. It focuses on 4-H members teaching others what they know about a particular project/subject matter of their choice!

4-Hers who do a presentation develop self-confidence, the ability to speak in front of an audience, and the ability to think ahead.

Join us on Tuesday, April 8th at 5:00pm for our FREE 4-H Presentation 101 Workshop to learn more about this fun opportunity for youth ages 5-18!

4-H Outdoor Cookery Workshop

Calling all future chef’s and grill masters! Join us for a fun, FREE, hands-on workshop to learn about the 4-H Outdoor Cookery program! At this workshop, families will learn about kitchen and grilling safety, grilling methods, knife skills and more while preparing your own beef kabobs!

Participants will learn the basics of the 4-H Outdoor Cookery competition and how to get involved in the 2025 competition in May and June!

Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 24th at 3:30pm! Click the link below for more information and to RSVP for the workshop!

Join the Exploring 4-H Club!

Would you like to get involved with 4-H but you aren't sure where to start? Buncombe County 4-H is excited to announce a new opportunity! The Exploring 4-H Club allows youth to explore all that 4-H has to offer. Open to 4-H members ages 5-18. 

Join us for our next meeting on Thursday, April 10th at 4:00pm at the Buncombe County Extension Office!

Buncombe County 4-H Needs You!

Buncombe County 4-H is currently seeking passionate adult volunteers to assist in implementing the following 4-H programs: STEM & Electricity, Cooking and Sewing classes. The time commitment is flexible with your schedule and you will be making a lasting positive impact on kids in your community!

Volunteers are the key to success in the Buncombe County 4-H program. Whether you’re interested in starting a club and becoming a club leader or just have a few hours to invest, we have challenging and fun jobs for adults who want to make a difference in the lives of Buncombe County youth! 

Contact Jordan today for more information at jordan_english@ncsu.edu or 828-255-5522.

Reserve Your Space Now for 2025 4-H Camp @ Betsy Jeff Penn!

There are few tools as powerful as the camp experience to positively impact the lives of young people. Whether it’s through nurturing social skills, building self-confidence, re-connecting kids with nature, or supporting positive peer-to-peer relationships, North Carolina 4-H Camp has the power to transform the lives of every child that walks through our doors.

Your child can look forward to a week of making new friends, swimming, archery, canoeing, rock climbing, games, campfires, sleeping in cabins, and much more. The life skills they learn at camp, including responsibility and independence, will help them in school, when they attend college, and in their first jobs

 Spaces are limited, so register soon!

4-H Dog Artistic Expression Contest

Calling all 4-H artists who love dogs! Youth in North Carolina are invited to participate in the third annual 4-H Dog Artistic Expression Contest. Entries are due to the Buncombe County Extension Center by May 27, 2025

Categories include:

• Crafts/Mixed Media
• Drawing
• Painting
• Poster
• Photography
• Digital Art (includes digitally enhanced photography)
• Sewing

NC 4-H Horticulture Contest

The Horticulture Judging and Identification Contest is a training program focused on teaching youth to recognize and identify some of the most important horticultural crops, to learn criteria influencing quality and to be able to answer questions and solve problems relating to the science of horticulture.

The 2025 Horticulture Contest will be on Saturday, May 3rd on the campus of NC State University. The contest is for any youth ages 5-18 and consists of three parts: 

1) a written knowledge test 

2) identification of 180 plants

3) judging plants for quality.

NC 4-H Beekeeping Essay Contest

Honey bees are hardworking, tirelessly gathering nectar and pollen to share with their hive. They provide a vital ecological service by pollinating agricultural, garden and native plants. Explore more about these fascinating insects by participating in the North Carolina 4-H Beekeeping Essay contest. The essay provides a platform for youth to creatively express their working knowledge and research of the craft of beekeeping.

The 2025 essay topic is, “The Importance of Youth in Beekeeping: How 4-H Members Can Make a Difference!”

This contest is open to NC 4-H'ers ages 8-18!

4-H News: 2025 WNC Dairy Beef Feeder Steer Project Kicks Off!

On Saturday, March 29th, the 2025 WNC Dairy Steer Project kicked off with youth participating in the training and calf pick-up day. Twenty youth from across WNC, seven of which are from Buncombe County, received their calves.

Over the next six months, these youth will learn how to care for, raise and show their calf. We would like to thank the WNC Beef Commission, WNC Communities, Local Farm Bureaus and Purina and Performance Feed who help make this program possible!

NC 4-H Camps are Hiring for Summer 2025!

Are you ready for a summer of amazing experiences and memories that will last a lifetime? NC 4-H Camps are looking for responsible, enthusiastic individuals to serve as positive role models and mentors for youth, ages 5 – 17 at our American Camp Association accredited summer camp.

You will help provide a fun, caring, safe environment in which young people will learn to appreciate nature, enjoy the challenges of adventure activities while creating lasting friendships and memories.

We Want to Hear From You!

Buncombe County 4-H wants to hear from you! Click the link below to complete our 2024-25 needs assessment. This information will help us plan future programs to best serve Buncombe County youth and families!