4-H teens lead training for peers

4-H teen leaders meet the challenge of educating the next generation.

Three Michigan 4-H members visited the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Feb. 3-5, 2017, to prepare for their role serving on the 4-H Ag Innovators Experience State Leadership Team. Attending the training were Elizabeth Bennett, a Macomb County 4-H member; Logan Leen, a Sanilac County 4-H member; and Nathan Laurenz, a Midland and Gratiot County 4-H member.

During the training conference, Bennett, Leen and Laurenz had an opportunity to meet with soil scientists from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and visit a farm in Maryland to gain an understanding of the composition of soil and the impact tillage has on soil health. The teens also participated in the “Healthy Soil CSI Challenge” as part of their training and later learned how to facilitate the activity.

Michigan’s 4-H Ag Innovators Experience State Leadership Team members put their knowledge and skills to use March 25, 2017, when they trained 16 fellow 4-H teen leaders at Thompson Community Center in Warren, Michigan, to facilitate the activity during one of two planned teen leader trainings. In addition, the teens trained an additional 10 teen leaders during the 4-H Teens as Teachers Workshop at Kettunen Center May 20-21, 2017.

The State Leadership Team members, along with the teen leaders they trained, used the Healthy Soil CSI Challenge activity to teach 1,000 Michigan youth in grades 3-8 about the importance of soil in producing food between March and July 2017.

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