MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A youth program established as part of a partnership with the Monongalia County School System and West Virginia University Extension is seeing another increase in participation by county students.
WVU Extension Agent Becca Flint Clark announced in front of the Monongalia County Board of Education during their regular meeting on Tuesday that student membership county wide has reached over 325 students after the first few months of the school year. This follows another consecutive year of increased student outreach, with students participating in after-school programming that ranges from farming produce to livestock education.
“4-H is going strong, I think we’re up to 325 members just since October 1st, and that will continue to grow,” said Flint Clark. “We try to offer a lot of really wonderful opportunities for our youth.”
According to Flint Clark, the Monongalia County 4-H Program reflected an increase in participation through two major farming showcases that took place over the past several months. This included the participation of hundreds of students in the Monongalia County Fair in late summer 2025 as part of the annual 4-H livestock show along with the annual 4-H Camp hosted at Camp Muffly. Opportunities that allow for students to directly engage with agricultural life.
“We have been at a lot of schools over the last few months doing lots of different activities,” said Flint Clark. “So I did give you a report with our numbers from 4-H camp this summer, we had some in our livestock show in sales, and so 4-H is going strong.
Flint Clark also emphasized the level of Monongalia County School System support that has allowed the 4-H program to grow over the now 18 years of operations. This includes vocal endorsements from members of the Monongalia County Board of Education, including President and longtime member Mike Kelly, as well as 4-H Committee board member Christina Fattore Morgan, who serves as the BOE representative. With the levy also allowing for extra employees to stay on to support the 4-H program, Flint Clark expects these numbers to carry over into the future.
“The support that you provide is just undeniable,” said Flint Clark, addressing the BOE. “I mean, the way that we can get into the schools and the things that we’re able to offer are appreciated.”
The goal for the Monongalia County 4-H program is to continue to promote agricultural education to county students as well as showcase county farmers that contribute to the community through the economy or through charity. This includes the participation in food drives to support county food pantries as well as educational presentations to elementary and middle school students before they become eligible to sign up for high school-based 4-H programs. With what appears to be ongoing support by the Mon County BOE, Flint Clark is optimistic about the future of 4-H in Monongalia County.
“If there’s ever anything that you can think of that we can do for you, I mean, that’s what we do, WVU Extension fills the needs of our county and our community,” said Flint Clark.