Ottawa, Ontario – April 24, 2019 – 4-H Canada is excited to be delivering another year of the Proud to Bee a 4-H’er and Steeped in Soil club outreach initiatives, as part of its ongoing commitment to engage youth on topics related to sustainable agriculture and food security.

For the past six years, the Proud to Bee a 4-H’er initiative has been offering 4-H clubs the opportunity to learn about the fascinating work of pollinators and their importance to our food supply, through the support of the Syngenta Operation Pollinator program. To date, nearly 150,000 seed packets have been distributed across the country, allowing members to plant and tend pollinator-friendly gardens themselves, or to encourage others to do so.

After a successful first year in 2018, the Steeped in Soil initiative is also inviting youth to continue learning about soil health and why it is one of the most important factors in the future of our food supply, as well as share soil-related stories and information to raise awareness within their communities. The popular tea bag experiment remains part of this initiative, with the results from individual participants shared as part of a global citizen science database to help build a broader world picture of soil health.

In 2019, over 3,900 youth from 136 clubs from coast to coast are participating in Proud to Bee a 4-H’er and over 2,500 youth from 98 clubs are participating in Steeped in Soil, promising another exciting year ahead for both programs.

“This week is National Soil Conservation Week, which provides an excellent backdrop for 4-H Canada to provide youth members with leadership opportunities to further connect with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Soil health and pollinators are important subjects for youth to learn about and understand how they, individually and collectively, can have an impact on their ecosystem in the world,” says Shannon Benner, 4-H Canada CEO. “We are very pleased to see so many clubs participating in these initiatives and for the support of Syngenta Canada, our Sustainable Agriculture
& Food Security Pillar partner. We are working to fulfill 4-H Canada’s mission of empowering youth to be responsible, caring and contributing leaders that effect positive change in the world around them.”

“The needs and expectations of society are becoming more complex, says Trevor Heck, president of Syngenta Canada. “Combine that with the challenges that agriculture and farmers face including climate change, soil health and biodiversity and some of our imperatives related to sustainable agriculture and food security become much clearer. Addressing these issues and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals requires partnerships with many stakeholders, and our support for 4-H Canada’s initiatives is an excellent example of such a partnership.”

To learn more about both of these initiatives, visit 4-h-canada.ca/proudtobee and 4-h-canada.ca/steepedinsoil.

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