Melissa Koch has a message for Mower County: 4-H isn’t just a farm kid’s club.

Koch, Mower County’s 4-H program coordinator, said 4-H is shedding that image through programs like The Power of Wind, a pilot project Mower County was selected for by the national 4-H. The project teamed Mower County 4-H with Lindsay Sorenson’s sixth-grade science class at Ellis Middle School for the project.

“This is a new avenue for 4-H to be in the classroom, and I think it’s really a great way to expose those who might not know about 4-H,” she said. “There’s that reputation that 4-H is just for farm kids — the old reputation.”

The project teaches students about wind power through class exercises. For one exercise, students tried to make a sail to carry a boat the farthest on a table with a fan.

Koch said she expects the project to expand in 2010. After Christmas break, the students will try to lift a cup holding pennies using a pinwheel they made.

Exposing new students to 4-H has been one of Koch’s goals since she came to Mower County about three years ago. Adding science based projects like The Power of Wind exposes 4-H to a wider range of students, she said.

“4-H is for everybody, and 4-H has so much to offer,” Koch said.

She said many 4-H projects are exposing 4-H’ers to science.

The wind project was just one of many projects of the county’s 14 4-H clubs in 2009. Students also spent Thursdays caring or the 4-H garden over the summer. The garden, located at the fairgrounds, grew in its second year, as clubs added a rain garden and continued to expand the number of plants they grow.

Koch said she’s starting to see more students get involved in the ambassador program. New 4-H’ers are getting involved, as Koch said about half of the 18 ambassadors are new to the ambassador program this year.

About 485 students participate in 14 clubs. Koch said many of the Austin clubs showed strong growth in 2009. One reason for that growth is increased awareness about 4-H programs, she said.

“4-H isn’t just one or the other, it’s a whole family event,” Koch said. “From kindergarten to all way when you’re past high school you can be involved as a 4-H’er, then as a parent, and we have lots of grandparents who come back and volunteer.”

While 4-H starts in third-grade, Koch said younger students are showing interest through the Cloverbud club, which is for children in kindergarten through second-grade.

While Koch said 4-H doesn’t have an off season, she described November and December as a quiet time for Mower County 4-H.

After a short break for the holidays, 4-H events pick up in January with Quiz Bowl teams. One team practices to compete in competitions on the beef, swine and sheep industries. Another team competes on rabbits, and another team competes on horses. The senior general livestock team took second place at a national competition in Nebraska last year.

Not only do the competitions teach 4-H’ers about the farm industry, they blend science with 4-H programs. Koch said this is happening more and more as 4-H clubs aim to expand their numbers.

In January, 4-H’ers will start preparing for one of the club’s biggest events: the Mower County Fair. Koch said they start preparing for the fair in January with more planning starting each month leading up to the event.