Fort Berthold Extension-NDSU

11/10/2025

11/10/2025

If you wish to join 4-H through Fort Bethold extension, contact Rebecca at rebecca.hager@ndsu.edu

11/07/2025

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/news/columns/prairie-fare/prairie-fare-healthy-snacking-without-a-first-class-ticket

A good snack needs to be nutritious enough to hold you over until your next meal.

10/24/2025

Don't let the preparation of dry beans stop you from using them in recipes!

Dry beans are inexpensive ingredients costing less than 10 cents per half cup. Plus they provide protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, potassium and magnesium, and they may help protect us from diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Sounds like a bargain!

Soak and cook dry beans easily with the preferred method >>> https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/pinchin-pennie-kitchen-7-steps-using-dry-beans

Pressure cook dry beans https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/field-fork-pressure-cook-dry-beans-save-money-and-time?fbclid=IwY2xjawNoW-lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF5dmdJYzAzTmx5S3haRzVZAR66iFmqHon5tCQCgtpk678nmAko9N2VLsKtW9szVgHpC16OhnIrDFk4WJ838w_aem_Mwoma3RRDUtR9TVJhokwFA

10/24/2025

Our Annual Mountrail County 4-H Awards Day is happening soon!!

Come out and cheer on our local 4-H youth as they are awarded for all their accomplishments during the 2024-2025 4-H year!

The 2025-2026 4-H year is currently in full swing and there is something for EVERYONE! Interested in joining the 4-H program? Please contact the Mountrail County 4-H office at 701-628-2835 Ext. 1 or lynnette.vachal@ndsu.edu.

10/24/2025

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/news/columns/dakota-gardener/dakota-gardener-bringing-your-green-thumb-indoors-for-the-year

Propagating houseplants is a simple and affordable way to give a special gift to friends or simply expand your collection of houseplants.

10/24/2025

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/news/columns/prairie-fare/prairie-fare-the-wild-side-of-the-menu-2014-safe-cooking-with-wild-game

Hunting can provide many benefits, including in the kitchen.

10/15/2025

Looking at Leaves - Studying Venation through Leaf Rubbing
Engage your creativity as you consider how to highlight and display the identifying characteristics of a leaf by making a leaf rubbing using common, easily accessible materials.

What you’ll need:
• leaves
• paper
• crayons

What to do:
-Think about the color or colors you want to use BEFORE you start rubbing (this is part of the planning of your project)
-Lay the leaf on a flat surface with the vein side up
-Cover the leaf with a piece of plain paper
-Hold a crayon sideways and rub gently back and forth across the paper above the leaf (the margin of the leaf as well as the veins should begin to show)
-Study the veins on the leaves - how would you describe the pattern you see?

Did you describe the pattern(s) you saw in any of these ways?
• Parallel: veins run parallel to the center vein (midrib)
• Pinnate: veins run from the center vein (midrib) to the edges of the leaf
• Palmate: veins run from a center point to the edges of the leaf, resembling the palm of a hand with the fingers spread

Why should you study the veins in the leaves?
The pattern of the veins in the leaves can be a key characteristic to help identify the plant it came from.

What project area could you exhibit this in at a Fair or Achievement Day?
The project area chosen will depend on what the goals of your project were or what you learned. Here are a few suggestions:

Plant Science—Botany (learning about plants through this activity)
Personal Development (learning about self through this activity)
Environmental Education (learning about relationship of humans to plants through this activity)
Communication and Expressive Arts—Visual Arts—Drawing (learning about different drawing media)
Communication and Expressive Arts—Visual Arts—Scrapbooking (learning about preserving, presenting and arranging your experience in learning about plants)
Post photos and tag us!

Send a message to learn more

10/15/2025

Dream It, Build It, Improve It: The Autumn Leaf Tower
(Inspired by Carson-Dellosa’s Seasonal STEM Challenges)

Build a tower of autumn leaves that stands more than 10 inches high, using only these materials:
• straws
• pipe cleaners
• leaves
• tape

What to do:
-Before you begin, imagine what you would like your tower to look like.
-Draw a diagram or talk with another person about what you will need to make the leaf tower you are imagining.
-Gather your materials. Do you have what you need to make your leaf tower? If not, you may have to imagine another tower, or think about how you can use your materials differently (it sometimes helps to talk with someone else about your idea and how you can use the materials you have to make your tower).
-Build your tower.
-Examine your tower: What do you like about your tower? What do you wish was different about your tower? What could you do to improve your leaf tower?
-Use your ideas to make your leaf tower better or make a new leaf tower.

This process is the same process that engineers go through to create solutions to problems - you just engineered a leaf tower!

What project area could you exhibit this in at a Fair or Achievement Day?
The project area chosen will depend on what the goals of your project were or what you learned. Here are a few suggestions:

Plant Science—Botany (learning about plants through this activity)
STEM—Engineering—Civil Engineering and Architecture (learning about design and construction)
Communication and Expressive Arts—Visual Arts—Sculpting (learning about how to form, shape, or manipulate material into an art form)
Post photos and tag us in them, Fort Berthold Extension-NDSU

Send a message to learn more