Helping Alberta kids lead with heart, head, hands and health

From: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

News release

November 12, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

A new investment in 4-H Alberta will offer the province's youth new opportunities to get into agriculture.

For more than 100 years, 4-H Alberta has been teaching the province's youth valuable skills in agriculture and beyond, helping them learn hands-on skills, developing leadership and creating a sense of belonging. New support will help 4-H Alberta bridge the gap between urban and rural kids and develop safety and mental health programming.

Through Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) funding, the governments of Canada and Alberta are investing more than $731,000 over 5 years for 3 4-H Alberta programs. The Intro to 4-H program, the Agriculture Safety and Mental Health Workshop and the Senior Spring Symposium will benefit from the funding.

About the programs

  • The Intro to 4-H program offers experience-based learning opportunities that build connections between urban and rural youth and local farmers and ranchers.
  • The Agriculture Safety and Mental Health Workshop is a new program that incorporates farm safety and mental health through experiential programs like equine therapy in a new hands-on learning opportunity for rural and urban youth.
  • The Spring Senior Symposium will expand on mental health education for youth in agriculture and address the stigma associated with mental health challenges in farming communities.

Quotes

"4-H has been supporting young people in agriculture for over a century. Through this shared investment in 4-H Alberta, I'm so pleased to support their efforts to build connections between urban and rural kids, develop safety and mental health programming, and guide our agriculture sector into the future."

-  The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"4-H Alberta has a long, proud legacy of teaching kids skills they'll use throughout their entire lives, from livestock care to public speaking and career development. We are proud to support this great organization and help introduce even more youth to valuable 4-H programming."

- RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation

"For more than 100 years, 4-H Alberta has been dedicated to empowering youth with skills and experiences that last a lifetime, deeply rooted in agriculture and community. This new grant allows us to expand on that legacy — bridging urban and rural perspectives, sharing time-tested skills and inspiring the next generation of leaders in Alberta's agriculture sector."

- Kurt Kinnear, CEO, 4-H Alberta

Quick facts

  • Funding is provided through Sustainable CAP's Resiliency and Public Trust initiative.

  • Sustainable CAP is a 5-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of Canada's agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60% federally and 40% provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

  • The total Sustainable CAP funding for this project is $731,162.27.

  • In 2020, Alberta's government committed to an annual operating grant for 4-H Alberta of $1 million per year for 10 years.

Associated links

Contacts

For media:

Annie Cullinan
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
annie.cullinan@agr.gc.ca

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
aafc.mediarelations-relationsmedias.aac@agr.gc.ca
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