They know how to grow fruits and vegetables, how to raise chickens and they’re all under the age of 14.
They’re the members of the Oakland County 4-H Club, and these six agriculturally developed kids have been busy working on their latest project ? building a greenhouse to help feed the needy.
Aaron Hubbard and Taylor Aubin, of Leonard; Noah and Lois Gagnon, of Goodrich; and Evan and Logan Byrne, of Attica, are members of the Oakland County 4-H Club, or the Collector’s Club, as they like to be called.
Their club is sponsored by Michigan State University and is headed by Kim Byrne of Attica, as well as other parents. These home-schooled students meet every Monday to discuss the goings on of their latest project.
Back in January, they applied for a grant from the 4-H Club to fund their community-based project idea. The idea was to help aid 20 low-income families in Oakland County by growing them healthy foods to promote a healthier lifestyle.
To do this, the club needed to build greenhouses and purchase various materials to grow their produce, which of course means they needed money. Luckly, Kraft Food’s granted $7,200 to the 4-H Club to give to whichever group they felt needed it the most. The 4-H Club then awarded the Collector’s Club with the money.
With that money, the club got started right away on their project. The kids would have to build energy- efficient and environmentally safe greenhouses to grow vegetables and fruits, raise poultry and build different technological materials to help aide their project.
One of their greenhouses is located at Dr. Randy and Dr. Robin Hubbard’s home in Leonard as well as an earth-sheltered greenhouse which is being built at the Aubin’s home. The earth-sheltered greenhouse is built into the side of a hill and will use solar energy as its source. To build the greenhouse at the Hubbard’s, the club received some architectural help from Gary Currier of Wilson and Associates in Oxford.
At the Byrne’s and Gagnon’s home, the kids created a solar powered electric fence around their gardens to keep any unwanted visitors, like deer, out.
All of the homes are raising close to 150 chickens between them and are purchasing part of an organic steer from Oliver Farms in Lapeer. All of the chickens are being raised organically too, which means there are no fertilizers, antibiotics or pesticides used.
Businesses like Oxford Farm and Cattle donated metal cattle panels to frame the greenhouse, while Harvest Time donated vegetable plants. Echo Grove in Addison has also allowed the club to use their facilities for any of their work.
Project leader Kathy Aubin said all of the help from these different donations has been absolutely wonderful.
‘A lot of the stuff they’re doing is expensive, so it helps to have donations,? she said.
Most of the kids agree that their project has been extremely challenging, but the most fun Evan Byrne said he’s had was making chicken tractors.
Chicken tractors are basically a bottomless, moveable pen made out of conduit and covered in chicken wire. The tractor helps prevent damage of one specified area of grass and is moved manually.
‘The purpose of moving the chickens is so they get fresh green foliage and more bugs so they stay healthy,? said Lois Gagnon, 10.
But the club is not only responsible for manual labor, they’re also responsible for the little things that are needed. For instance, they have to record the progress of their project, use spreadsheets to create a monthly financial report, contact the press and write letters to request donations.
The club has until September to use all of their funds, which won’t be a problem according to Aubin.
‘We need every penny, plus more,? she said.
Right now, the club is looking for a donation of a refrigerator for their produce and a freezer for their poultry and beef.
With help from Kent Clark, the CEO of Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac, 20 low-income families in Oakland County were chosen to benefit from the project. The kids said they are really excited about their project and their parents are just as proud.
‘With them learning about all of this and doing all these projects, they’re really giving back to the community,? said Aubin.