ECO Club

In addition to our ECO programs, we have an ECO SpIn (Special Interest) Club in Grundy and Kankakee County. By bringing together youth and families that have similar interests, we'll be able to create a community and develop our voice as a group in order to influence stakeholders and make an impact within our communities by participating in leadership opportunities and service projects.

The ECO Clubs are run by a professional 4-H Youth Educator but eventually, once adult volunteers are found, will be run by our amazing volunteers! Any takers?

Introduction

Why become an ECO Club Member?

Sense of BELONGING
- Youth belong to a group of other youth with similar interests. This encourages a sense of belonging and community.
- Parents, guardians and siblings, in most cases, are encouraged to participate or observe most of the programs that are offered. The idea is to create a sense of community between the youth and the families.
Foster INDEPENDENCE
- Youth are encouraged to complete independent local and state fair projects to display their knowledge and expertise in the areas of the environmental, wildlife conservation and outdoor adventures.
Display GENEROSITY
- ECO Club members will plan and implement a service project at least once each year in order to give back to the local community and benefit the environment and wildlife.
- Youth will have an opportunity to participate in a wide variety of activities as a group. These activities could include geocaching, hiking, field trips, guest speakers and more.
Develop MASTERY
- Members will be given opportunities to become Program Assistants and Teen Teachers in Environmental and Wildlife Science, Outdoor Adventures and more. They will have the opportunity to showcase their expertise in the field of their choosing during the 4-H year. This may be at the fair or other community event.
Additional benefits
- ECO Club members are not required to pay a program fee for many of the ECO Club programs. This is a savings of at least $5 for most programs.
- Member’s siblings and families are welcome to attend most of our programs at no additional charge.
- It’s FUN!!!!!!!

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

ECO Club Registration

If you are NOT a 4-H member, you must become a member of 4-H and you can select ECO Club as your club. The fee to join 4-H is $20 per year. When you join 4-H, many of the ECO programs are free or discounted for ECO Club members.
If you are a current 4-H member, there is NO FEE to be in the ECO Club. In 4-H online, login to your account, select the youth you would like to register, go to the first page that shows clubs. Add the appropriate county’s ECO Club as an additional club. For example ECO Club – Grundy County or ECO Club - Kankakee County.
Members must be a current, active 4-H member within a club or as an Independent Member
Must be 8-18 years old. Many programs are also open to Cloverbuds, ages 5-7.

If you are a Will County 4-H member, you have to join an ECO Club in Grundy or Kankakee. To do so, go to the first page under profile information and add either Grundy or Kankakee County (whatever county is best for you - you may want to look at shooting sports in each of the two counties before you choose because you can only have one additional county on your profile...) as a second 4-H county. Then, that county's ECO Club will appear on page 3 under clubs.

Roles
Youth can choose from a variety of roles within the ECO Clubs - or, just be a member - the choice is theirs. Below are just a few roles we will have if there are youth interested:

Journalist / Reporter - responsible for spreading the news about our club, activities and environmental stewardship opportunities
Location Coordinator - responsible for scouting out new locations for the club to visit in person or virtually., etc.
Stewardship Coordinator - responsible for coordinating community service opportunities, etc.
Event Coordinator - responsible for coordinating clubs events outside or regular club meetings, etc.
Club Host - responsible for greeting guests, planning ice breakers, ensuring attendees sign-in, etc.
Secretary - responsible for documenting club meetings and sending out notes, etc.
Member - helps out as needed

TOPICS

Getting to Know YOU
- What will the vision and mission of the club be?
- Expectations of the educator and youth members
- When and where will we meet?
- What activities and programs will be participate in and/or host?
- Take out our calendars!
We understand each family has many obligations already and do not want to overburden them by adding one more meeting if their schedule does not allow.
The meetings are informal and the whole family is welcome. We will not use parliamentary procedures or officially elect officers.
Agenda
- Introductions & ice breaker activity
- Review upcoming programs
- Discuss what we’d like to do and see in the future
- Learn something new or do something just for fun

Outdoor Leadership Workshops

Below is a list of outdoor leadership topics we may host in the upcoming months. Some may be combined and some may be online. Stay tuned for details.

Outdoor skills overview (required for all participants before leading any outdoor skill or event) - What do you want to do, what is in demand, learning the skill and putting into practice
Safety in the outdoors - First aid basic, situational awareness & knowing what's going on around you, 4-H policies & guidelines
Outdoor leadership styles - What's yours and how can you develop it?
Outdoor group leadership - leading groups of youth in the outdoors
- Communication
- Teamwork
Environmental stewardship - changing our world one step at a time
Becoming an Outdoor Teen Teacher - What does it take to become an effective Outdoor Teen Teacher?
- As as Teen Teacher, you will go through a series of steps to include:
  - An introduction to the outdoor skill
  - Skills instruction
  - Supervised practice
  - Implementation with participants
  - Review
  - Revise
  - Repeat