NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
June 29, 2000
The North Dakota 4-H Foundation Inc. will provide about $7,650 to help fund three educational projects, two of which will make use of communications technology and global positioning and geographic information systems (GPS/GIS). The third project teaches youth horsemanship. These projects represent the second round of educational programs to receive 4-H Foundation funding.
The 4-H Foundation has established the Building Leaders for the 21st Century Grant Program to partially fund educational projects, and it has earmarked $50,000 for the program during the current fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Projects receiving funding must include educators from the North Dakota State University Extension Service.
"A key criterion for these projects is that each helps achieve the foundation's goals, the most basic of which is to strengthen and bolster learning opportunities for youth, volunteers and youth leaders," says Arleen Bunt, 4-H Foundation development director.
The following educational programs are the latest to receive funding from the 4-H Foundation:
*Take the 5-A-Day Challenge--a nutrition pilot project that will use distance education technology such as the World Wide Web, e-mail and chat rooms to increase knowledge about nutrition and change behaviors among at least 100 seventh and eighth graders throughout North Dakota. Educational materials are being developed this summer and the six-week program will be launched in September. The 4-H Foundation contributed $2,476 to this project, the total cost of which will approach $3,500. The project coordinator for this program is Julie Garden-Robinson, extension food and nutrition specialist at NDSU.
*Master Global Positioning System for Youth Volunteers--a hands-on project that will provide training to youth from Emmons, Logan and McIntosh counties about the global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS). Training materials have been developed by John Nowatzki, extension water quality specialist; Joe Courneya, 4-H education design specialist; and extension agents from counties in northwestern and north central North Dakota. The youth who take part in this educational program, along with extension agents and staff members from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, will help train farmers in the three-county area about how to use GPS/GIS. The 4-H Foundation is providing $1,655 for this project.
*Horsemanship Series--an ongoing educational program, the latest stage of this multi-year effort focuses on hippology by allowing youth to test their knowledge and understanding of horse science in a friendly but competitive manner. The program is designed so youth who don't own a horse can still participate. Based on a team concept with each team made up of three or four youth, the program has four phases, including a written test and judging. The 4-H Foundation is providing $3,500 for this program, which has a total budget of more than $12,500.
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Source: Arleen Bunt (701) 231-8569
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136