In preparation for this year’s Carbon County Fair, members of the county’s 4-H Livestock Club gathered Wednesday night to tie up loose ends.

The club gives kids ages 8 to 18 the opportunity to learn how to raise livestock through first hand experience. Each member chooses a project to work on based on their own interests that will later be shown at the fair.

Some popular projects include cattle, swine, sheep, goat and poultry.

“Each kid puts their hearts into it. It’s a lot of work,” said parent Dan Myers of Lehighton.

A majority of 4-H members raise their animals from newborns until they are ready to be shown during fair season. Members then purchase and care for the animals on their own, picking up useful skills along the way.

Chelsea Eckhart, 18, of Lehighton, shared her experiences as a 4-H member with this year’s fair project.

“I like seeing them grow,” said Eckhart, who chose dairy beef and poultry for her 2018 project.

Currently, she’s looking forward to watching all of her hard work pay off during the showing of her livestock.

The club’s organizational leader, Christi Graver, was a part of 4-H for as long as she can remember. After aging out of membership, she decided to become a leader.

Along with handling organizational matters for 4-H she also assists kids like Eckhart who chose dairy beef and poultry as a project. The combination of physically raising the livestock on their own while having an experienced leader to learn from is the key to a successful project.

“I love animal agriculture and I love being able to teach it to kids,” she said. Graver aims to help bridge the gap between the public and the farm through her guidance.

During the last 4-H meeting before fair week, members handed in their project books detailing their journey throughout the process.

Once club leaders approve a member’s project their animals can be shown for all to see. For more information on this year’s livestock schedule visit http://www.carboncountyfair.com.