After Youths (under 19 years of age) have become members of the National
American Iris Society (A.I.S.), then what? Many adult AIS members go to
monthly club meetings, but these can sometimes be "boring" for a 3rd
grader? Many adult AIS members exhibit iris, but who helps the 2nd grader
or the 8th grader learn to do this? Many adult AIS members hybridize iris, but
what does that mean to a 6th grader?
Many adult AIS members think that all of the Youth Members belong to a
Classroom Iris Project (C.I.P.) that is governed by a Teacher. This is not
true. Many times there are no C.I.P. programs established for the youth,
or no teacher available to work with the youth. Remember, Youth can be
members of A.I.S. (American Iris Society) without being in a C.I.P. (Classroom
Iris Project), but all C.I.P. participants must be A.I.S. members. A.I.S.
and C.I.P. are not synonymous. So, what else can a Youth Member of A.I.S.
do besides the C.I.P. and go to the "boring" meeting with the
adults?!? (By the way, not all "adult" meetings are boring - and
sometimes the Youth A.I.S. member gives the program.)
FEW EXAMPLE OF YOUTH PROJECTS or ACTIVITIES:
 | Classroom Iris Project (C.I.P.) under the direction of a Teacher |
| Youth Projects under the direction of a Scout Leaders, 4-H Leaders, or a
Youth Advisor (Y.A.) (usually an adult leader from the local club who has
been appointed by the club president) with help from the National Youth
Chairperson and/or the Regional Youth Chairperson (R.Y.C.) |
| AIS Region 4 (Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, and
North Carolina) a hybridizer has a yearly hybridizing clinic for youth only,
and then they get their seedpods to plant if it works! |
| AIS Region 18 (Kansas, Missouri) has a Regional Contest that parallels the
National Clarke Cosgrove Contest. |
| AIS Region 2 (New York) have a monthly meetings for youth only, where they
do an activity, not always strictly iris related, but usually related to
gardening. |
| Some local clubs have "youth only" shows - some are judged and
some are not. |
| Some Youth groups work in community gardens. |
| Other AIS Regions have special contests besides the National Youth
Contests. |
| Some clubs concentrate on youth participation in the artistic division of
iris shows. |
| AIS Region 13 has a Teacher Directed group of youth who are currently
concentrating on the National AIS Essay Contest and National AIS Coloring
Contest as a beginning. They also have an iris planting and will have
guest speakers from their sponsoring Iris Club who will talk about different
aspects of the Iris Flower. |
| There are youth groups that concentrate on making posters for their Iris
Club. |
| Some youth groups take tours of iris gardens and/or commercial sources of
the iris flower. |
Hopefully, the above list gives examples of many projects available for the
Youth Members of A.I.S. The National Youth Chairperson has ideas ready for
mailing to participating Teachers, Youth Leaders, and Youth Advisors of Local
Clubs. Becoming a Youth Member is the first step to receiving bulletins,
booklets, and information handouts.
Future holds that some of these projects ideas are available on this website.
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