This week, 4-H members from across the nation are celebrating their organization. The theme for this year’s National 4-H Week is “4-H Grows Here.”
The celebration recognizes that 4-H grows here regardless of where you are.
“We’re looking at the 4-H program and realizing that regardless of where a young person is, if they’re in an urban area or our most rural area, young people are growing through 4-H. They’re learning life skills. They’re developing new leadership skills, and they’re truly becoming the citizens of tomorrow for our country, our state and our communities,” Dr. Toby Lepley, Texas assistant 4-H leader for Operations in College Station, said in an interview with Tom Nicolette on the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network.
In Texas, there are a little over 50,000 youth in their community 4-H clubs. Another 550,000 youth are involved in 4-H through other activities and special interest projects like Ag in the Classroom and the Junior Master Gardener program.
“It’s our week to really show the 4-H program,” Lepley said.
Many 4-H officers will be meeting with their local commissioners court as proclamations are made in honor of 4-H week.
Other highlights this week include National Youth Science Day, which is Wednesday.
“This is the one day that all of the 4-H programs across the country come together and focus on that area of STEM science education,” Lepley said. “This year, it’s Motion and Commotion, where young people will actually be doing a physics project where they will use race cars, develop their own tracks and learn about physics, weights and different things like that.”
On Saturday, Oct. 10, National 4-H Week will conclude with One Day 4-H.
“This is our one day of community service across the state of Texas,” Lepley said. “This year, we have over 398 projects signed up with more than 11,000 youth and volunteers going out into their communities to do service projects.”
This year, Burr Oak trees will also be planted across Texas in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Texas Forest Service.