Starting Your Own Neighborhood Nature Club

Starting your own neighborhood nature club is easy! Using the forms in the Neighborhood Nature Clubs Tool Kit:

	Step 1 - Let people in your community know that you are organizing a club.
	Step 2 - Recruit at least five young people and their parents in order to have a vibrant group.
	Step 3 - Set times and dates to meet.
	Step 4 - Use the roster to collect names and contact information for all.
	Step 5 - Ask members to sign the media release form.
	Step 6 - Review the curriculum.
	Step 7 - Start having fun!

Starting Your Own 4-H Club

If you want to organize an official 4-H club, there are additional things you will need to do. Becoming an official 4-H club opens a world of opportunities and options for you and your youth members—events, activities, awards, contests, public displays, college scholarships, and trips.

Leaders of officially chartered 4-H clubs need to be certified. This involves background screening and training. Check with your local county Extension office to find out more about the specific requirements to become a certified 4-H club leader. You may find it helpful to observe an existing 4-H club to give you an idea of how 4-H clubs operate. If that is not an option, here is a step-by-step process for organizing a 4-H club.

Step 1 - Gather a minimum of five interested youths (ages 5 – 19).

Step 2 - Find a meeting place for your group (home, school, church, civic, or other resource area). You can meet weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or whatever fits your interests and people’s schedules.

Step 3 - Meet with youth to plan out how the club will be organized (for example, do they want to have officers; how often will your group meet, who will be responsible for snacks, how long will the meetings last, etc.)

Step 4 - If you decide to formalize your club group, you will need to develop some bylaws, fill out a request for an official 4-H Club Charter, and determine what other activities will be offered in your club (templates for these can be found on our website under volunteer resources.)

Step 5 - Begin your first meeting with something ACTIVE! Make the first meeting exciting and engaging by doing one of the activities in the Neighborhood Nature Club curriculum. Help everyone become acquainted with one another. Provide snacks and drinks. Play a game or some ice-breaker activity to help everyone feel comfortable. Then—Go Outside and Play!

Step 6 - There is a small fee to join 4-H and each county sets their own fees which is paid when a 4-H member joins a club. Check with your local county Extension office to find out about the program development fee as well as other opportunities that exist in 4-H.

If you can dream it, you can do it in 4-H!

	Step 1 - Gather a minimum of five interested youths (ages 5 – 19).
	Step 2 - Find a meeting place for your group (home, school, church, civic, or other resource area). You can meet weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or whatever fits your interests and people’s schedules.
	Step 3 - Meet with youth to plan out how the club will be organized (for example, do they want to have officers; how often will your group meet, who will be responsible for snacks, how long will the meetings last, etc.)
	Step 4 - If you decide to formalize your club group, you will need to develop some bylaws, fill out a request for an official 4-H Club Charter, and determine what other activities will be offered in your club (templates for these can be found on our website under volunteer resources.)
	Step 5 - Begin your first meeting with something ACTIVE! Make the first meeting exciting and engaging by doing one of the activities in the Neighborhood Nature Club curriculum. Help everyone become acquainted with one another. Provide snacks and drinks. Play a game or some ice-breaker activity to help everyone feel comfortable. Then—Go Outside and Play!
	Step 6 - There is a small fee to join 4-H and each county sets their own fees which is paid when a 4-H member joins a club. Check with your local county Extension office to find out about the program development fee as well as other opportunities that exist in 4-H.