Children, Youth and Families Education and Research Network

Author: Smith, Marilyn; Rodney Davis (University of Nevada Coop. Ext.); Amy L. Meier (University of Nevada Coop. Ext.)
Description: 4-H Bootstraps is a 12-week program designed for rural youth, ages 18-21, who are not working and not in school. The program goal is for participants to develop skills and motivation to find meaningful work, which is accomplished through a combination of classroom learning and practical fieldwork. The environmental fieldwork on public lands, funded by the Bureau of Land Management, provides the venue for these disenfranchised youth to change their attitudes and values about work. Program results highlight the participants’ developing self-awareness in light of program goals. Over the 3 months of the program, participants receive 40 hours of life skills training in areas such as communication, decision making and conflict resolution, as well as topics related to the job market like resume writing, interview preparation, and applying for a job. The classroom training is combined with approximately 440 hours working on sage grouse habitat improvement and acquiring practical hands on skills that will be helpful in the job market.

Author: Hosty, Maureen (2 more by this author); Alison Heimowitz; Jed Smith; Deb Schreiber; John Williams; Gary Delaney
Description: As the effects of urbanization accelerate in many parts of the world, relationships between urban and rural communities are also changing. The results of these rapidly changing relationships impact mankind’s desire to create a more sustainable world. It is increasingly clear that sustainability is complex and entails an array of interacting socioeconomic and ecological factors. As the building blocks of society, communities play an essential role in addressing the challenge of sustainability. Yet communities are complex and diverse systems with multiple stakeholders, and there are often many interpretations of sustainability and very different ideas about how best to achieve it. Oregon is no exception. Oregon is a state of great economic, social and geographic diversity. While this diversity brings strength, it also challenges Oregonians to meet the needs of all communities. Nowhere is this divide more deeply felt than in the area of natural resource management. The divide is especially pronounced in regards to how Oregonians feel their natural resources should be managed. The 4-H Urban-Rural Exchange program is bridging this divide. Outcome evaluations indicated significant changes in urban and rural participants’ attitude, knowledge and understanding of lifestyles and environmental management practices from both sides of the divide.

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Author: Powers, Kevin; Raymond Faini
Description: The 4-H Eco-Stewardship Program is an educational program offered to students residing in Chelan County, Washington State. The unique quality of the program is the nature of the collaborations with schools and natural resource management agencies. The primary purpose is to develop life skills and engage local youth in "Outdoor Classrooms" where they are presented with learning opportunities related to the environment and natural resources surrounding their communities. Through this program, students develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between healthy forests and healthy communities. The experiential education model (4-H Challenge) is infused throughout all activities to focus on the development of critical life skills. This nationally recognized 4-H Eco Stewardship Program successfully provides young people the skills they need to become self-directing, positive, contributing members of society.

Author: Dann, Shari; Judy Ratkos
Description: Although 4-H camps abound, Michigan has uniquely developed, sustained, and intensively evaluated the impacts of its statewide teen leadership and environmental stewardship program, 4-H Great Lakes and Natural Resources Camp. This program is designed for youth aged 13 to 15. Learning is focused on unique aspects of the Lake Huron site, and provides pre-college instruction in coastal ecology, fisheries management, limnology, wildlife, forestry, and wetlands. Experiential learning also takes place through natural resource-based recreation and research-oriented field trips. Teen leadership is fostered through formal evening programs and natural resource-themed group morale-building games. Structured campfire programs focus on Great Lakes and aquatic heritage and provide valuable reflective time to process youth learning. Campers make new friends, are mentored by content and youth development experts and older teen/college-age counselors, and have fun in a unique, biologically diverse outdoor setting. Quantitative pre- and post-camp evaluations conducted since 1999 with more than 475 youth document that the program achieves its objective of increasing Great Lakes/natural resources ecological knowledge. Other impacts include increase in Great Lakes place attachment, positive changes in peer associations that support youths' interest in nature, positive post-camp resource stewardship intentions, and impacts on critical reflection regarding fisheries and wildlife-related careers.

Author: Elmore, Dwayne; Craig Harper
Description: The Wildlife Habitat Education Program (WHEP) is a hands-on 4-H natural resource program dedicated to teaching wildlife and fisheries habitat management to youth ages 8-19 throughout the United States. Studying a scientifically-based manual, over 10,000 participants have learned about wildlife terms, concepts, species and species management, and habitat management. WHEP also provides participants an opportunity to test their wildlife knowledge in a friendly competition, as states supporting WHEP conduct state contests. The winning senior (14-19 years of age) WHEP team from each state earns the right to attend the annual National WHEP Contest. The national contest moves to a different state (and thus different habitat type) each year. Beyond the wildlife knowledge and management skills learned, WHEP provides a great many other benefits, including learning teamwork and critical thinking skills, improving written and oral communication skills and self-confidence, and learning about natural resource career options. Survey results from 6 years and over 200 4-H participants reveals that WHEP is increasing knowledge in natural resources and is contributing to 4-H life skills.

Author: Arnett, Nate (1 more by this author); Kim Catchpole, Theresa Ferrari, Graham Cochran, Parker Charles Burks, Jennille Love, Ashley Krogel, Lois Woods
Description: A recent study conducted by the Afterschool Alliance found that in these challenging economic times afterschool programs are needed more than ever. Demand for programs is up, funding is down, and while overall afterschool programs are struggling, this need is even more pronounced in African-American communities. Adventure Central in Dayton, Ohio is a program that is filling this gap by serving at-risk, African-American children and their families by providing non-formal educational programs outside of school hours. Adventure Central is a positive youth development partnership of 4-H, Ohio State University Extension, and Five Rivers MetroParks. Using nature, staff nurtures families in life-changing activities that strengthen values, build lasting life skills, and empower youth to explore life's possibilities. The afterschool program is the primary programmatic effort for this dynamic youth education center. Evaluations with parents and long term youth participants indicate that the program is delivering educational and social benefits as well as opportunities to do new things ina safe and supportive environment. Adventure Central integrates high touch with opportunities to connect with nature. The result: participants gain strengthened values, lasting life skills, and both an eagerness and confidence to explore life's possibilities and the natural world.

Author: Moore, Sharon
Description: Eagle's Nest/Owl's Roost (ENOR) is an Environmental Day Camp located in Jefferson County Colorado for students entering the 4th and 5th grades. A paid staff consisting of a director, two supervisors and eight camp educators leads the camp. Campers attending ENOR participate in a number of environmental enrichment activities such as wildlife identification, renewable energy topics, water conservation, Colorado history, and ecology; as well as development of social themes such as team work, cooperation, friendship, respect for each other and the environment. ENOR has been a part of Jefferson County 4-H since 1974 and has educated nearly 15,000 youth. The program is aligned with the program standards of the Colorado Department of Education. These standards are intended to facilitate the cultivation of knowledgeable, responsible and critical thinking participants in the local and global community. Real-world situations are used when appropriate and the curriculum is updated as needed in order to offer campers the most relevant and practical information possible. The goal of ENOR is to then have campers become environmental ambassadors who will pass this information on to their families, friends and neighbors.

Author: Bovitz, Laura (4 more by this author)
Description: Youth need not only to be connected to learning in the natural world, but should be engaged in topics relating to nature and the environment. Young people do have the right and the responsibility to participate in decisions affecting their environment, and are capable of making valuable contributions to their communities and society. The Eco-Ventures at the Earth Center summer program provided an opportunity for youth in grades 5 through 7 to participate in outdoor, experiential learning with a focus on ecology and the environment. This summer experience for youth included hands-on learning through exploration, experimentation, debate and discussion. Throughout the program, youth participated in educational activities and discussions concerning environmental awareness and stewardship. Youth wrote and filmed public service announcements which were distributed to various media outlets. Youth developed personal environmental plans of action. Pre-post tests results indicated an increase in knowledge on topics addressed and a statistically significant increase in overall test scores. End of program observational evaluations indicated that youth developed teamwork, communication and decision making skills. A three-month follow-up survey showed that youth had reached their goals, were successful in making personal changes in their environmental impact, and had influenced the decisions of their families, friends and schools.

Author: Martin, Priscilla; Steve Stewart, Gary Williams, Terri Gibb, Shari Dann, Patrick Livingston
Description: The Great Lakes Education Program (GLEP) is part of a multidisciplinary, conservation education and science curriculum integrating classroom and outdoor hands-on learning to introduce Michigan elementary students to the Great Lakes. GLEP features sustained collaboration between Michigan 4-H Youth Development, Sea Grant, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, and Michigan State University (MSU) Extension. It is divided into: 1) classroom introduction, 2) an experiential, shipboard field trip and 3) classroom and home activities, and discussion. Since GLEP’s inception in 1991, more than 80,000 students and adults from 26 communities have participated. GLEP annually serves approximately 4,000 students from 160 classrooms in 20 school districts and 6 counties, including urban, suburban and rural areas. 32% of GLEP’s students are from traditionally underrepresented populations. Impact evaluations have shown GLEP is a highly successful conservation education program. Great Lakes and natural resources knowledge changes significantly due to GLEP participation. Students’ attitudes toward the Great Lakes become more positive, and stewardship intentions are strengthened. Students without outdoor exposure (through boating, fishing on the Great Lakes) experience the greatest gains in stewardship attitudes and intentions. GLEP’s partners, teachers and volunteers are highly satisfied with the program, which has been recognized regionally and nationally

Author: Arnett, Nate (1 more by this author); Graham Cochran
Description: The Job Experience and Training (JET) program is a work-based learning program that is part of the comprehensive 4-H youth development program at Adventure Central, an urban education center in Dayton, Ohio. To address concerns that youth lack the skills essential for job success and are entering the workplace unprepared, Extension educators at Adventure Central created the JET program, a work-based learning program for teens. JET is conducted over a six-month period, culminating in an eight-week summer work experience in collaboration with a local park district. Supervisors and teens complete a performance appraisal measure based on 21st century skills at two points during the program. Both teens and supervisors provide written comments addressing teens' strengths and areas for growth, as well as comments on their satisfaction with the program itself. Overall, the experience appears to have produced improvements in teens' workforce skills, as evidenced by their own self-assessment and that of their supervisors.

Author: Tassin, Mark; Hilary A. Collis; Ashley W. Mullens
Description: Louisiana contains approximately 40% of the nation's wetlands in the contiguous United States, but accounts for over 80% of the total national wetland loss. Continued wetland loss in Louisiana will result in severe ecological and economic ramifications for the entire nation. Therefore, the need for individuals willing to make significant contributions to help control wetland loss and create sustainability of Louisiana wetlands is immense. The Youth Wetlands Education and Outreach Program is a statewide program consisting of environmental education lessons and hands-on activities, designed to heighten the awareness of Louisiana's youth to the unprecedented problem of wetland loss. Program materials, including structured lesson plans, supplies, and step-by-step procedures to activities, are provided for educators to implement throughout the academic year. During the summer months, students are encouraged to attend four summer camps associated with the program and participate in wetland restoration efforts. The program promotes awareness, ownership, and empowerment in youth by immersing students in a concentrated curriculum of wetland related environmental studies. The Youth Wetlands Education and Outreach Program provides youth with direct experience and increased knowledge of environmental action skills, to instill in students that they can make a meaningful contribution to preserving, conserving, and restoring Louisiana's wetlands.

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Author: Roesch, Gabrielle; Jana Ferris
Description: The 4-H Fish and Forest Stewards Program teaches 4-H Essential Elements in a School Enrichment and After-School format. This program works with diverse schools within Snohomish County, Washington. We have worked with Tulalip Tribal youth as well as rural communities affected by poverty and job losses. Our program is generally taught throughout the entire school year with visits once or twice a month. We focus our curriculum on Environmental Stewardship which includes sessions on watersheds, water quality, native plants, salmon habitat/stewardship, forests and wildlife, climate change and local history. Our program focuses on learning about the environment both in the classroom and out in the field through experiential field trips where youth experience recreation, service and learning in an afternoon or for the whole day. The 4-H Fish and Forest Stewards Program also incorporates team-building activities that teach students life-skills such as problem solving, teamwork, communication and reflection. These activities are based on the 4-H philosophy of Do-Reflect-Apply. This fusion of team-building and challenge activities in conjunction with environmental stewardship makes this program effective at engaging students, teachers and parents along with our partners. Our strategy also offers opportunities for engaging students in life-long learning and skill-building.

Author: Bird, Marianne (2 more by this author)
Description: 4-H On the Wild Side aims to enthuse and educate elementary school children about nature and the outdoors, and encourage community involvement and activism leadership skills in teenagers. It is both a service learning experience for teens who plan and lead the program, and an environmental education experience for elementary school-age participants. Over several months, teen staff work in partnership with adult volunteers to orchestrate and deliver weekend camp programs to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students attending schools in low-income neighborhoods. Teens receive training in environmental curricula and in teaching inquiry-based science, then design and deliver two weekend programs. Up to eighty children attend each session, rotating through the teen-led activities to learn about ecosystems, migration, habitat and other environmental lessons. Since 2000, over 1,500 youth have participated. Annual evaluations reveal consistent outcomes for the program including significant knowledge gain for participants, growth in leadership skills for teen presenters, and a sense of community contribution.

Author: Hosty, Maureen (2 more by this author)
Description: This project has established a methodology for improving the quantity and quality of science education through the use of trained Master Volunteer 4-H Wildlife Stewards. This new 4-H model is in line with emerging research on school and community connections. The 4-H Wildlife Stewards Program Model also supports new research on family and community connections. The 4-H Wildlife Stewards Program Model provides the system, training and support for both families and educators to ensure that all children and youth have access to diverse developmental opportunities in their homes, neighborhoods, and schools by helping parents overcome barriers and get involved in schools.4-H Wildlife Stewards are trained parent and community volunteers. They are trained to support culturally diverse community-based programs in both urban and rural communities.

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