Highlands County Youth Citrus Project Teaches Life Skills, Time Management
by MAGGIE THARP
A Highlands County 4-H club with a 26-year history is helping Highlands County youth practice growing high-quality citrus trees and teaching important life skills in the process.
The Highlands County Youth Citrus Project was founded in 1999 by Tim Hurner, former director of Highlands County UF/IFAS Extension and 2019 Citrus Hall of Fame inductee. The program is now run by Alexis Cooper, 4-H Education/Training specialist, who has been working with the 4-H program for 10 years and running the HCYCP for about six years. Cooper runs the program with the assistance of HCYCP Committee chairman John Gose, whom she says is “an absolute lifesaver” when it comes to running the club.
Through the club, Highlands County youth have the opportunity to hone their citrus growing skills and research the industry. Participants can purchase up to two trees, which they then plant and cultivate throughout the 10-month project. At the end of those 10 months, they submit the better of their trees for judging and sale at the Highlands County Fair in February. Participants also are required to make a display board or deliver an illustrated talk on a citrus-related topic, which could be anything from citrus industry jobs to baking with citrus, Cooper says.
“It’s basically to be able to give kids the knowledge of the citrus industry—how they can affect our community,” Cooper says.
Beyond the challenge of growing a high-quality citrus plant, Cooper says one of the biggest benefits of the program is that it teaches important life skills, such as research, time management, and even the importance of a thank you note.
“At the end of it … we have the kids write thank you letters to all of those people who donate any sort of money or sponsor the T-shirts. It’s just important to teach the kids even though somebody gives you something, don’t just take it and run. You have to make sure you thank the people that have helped you, and it’s just skills that they will remember forever,” Cooper states.
Cooper herself is incredibly grateful for the amount of community support for the program, mentioning companies like High Grove, an under-construction golf course in Venus, which purchased this year’s grand champion tree and 26 other trees with no bids at the most recent fair. Other companies have helped out with monetary gifts or by donating supplies.
“Our program could not be run without all of our great sponsors that we have,” Cooper emphasizes.
This year, Cooper noted a few changes to the program. One change is a guaranteed final check for all trees. Additionally, this year’s standards will be higher, and trees with obvious nutrient deficiencies, considerable insect damage, citrus diseases, or insufficient growth may be disqualified. Cooper says she hopes this will reduce the amount of trees without bids and encourage participants to put effort into growing their trees. However, they will have assistance with one potential growing hazard—HLB. Since the late 2010s, 4-H has used donated Tree Defenders to prevent psyllids from accessing the trees as they grow.
The HCYCP, one of the 4-H’s most popular clubs with about 60 participants each year, has the potential to inspire Highlands County youth to go on to study agriculture and work in the industry, Cooper says. Cooper herself is a former citrus program participant.
“Being a citrus member in the past, I can say the project has come a long way. IPCs (Individual Protective Covers) were not a thing and pretty much if your tree was exposed to a disease, you were pretty much out of the project. Through all the research and development over the years, we have found a way to turn this project into more than just growing a tree,” Cooper shares. “The entire project is a learning process from start to finish. I remember one year when I was a participant, the trees ended up with canker very early on. That is pretty much non-existent in our program today. Seeing the overall growth in the program alone, not just with participation, is impactful in my eyes.”
Registration is open now until March 24 at 5 p.m. For more information, contact apontius@ufl.edu.