New investment fuels growth for 4-H Alberta youth programs

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced a new investment in 4-H Alberta, aimed at providing fresh opportunities for young people to engage in agriculture.

This new funding will enhance 4-H Alberta’s ability to bridge the gap between urban and rural youth, while also focusing on safety and mental health programming.

Through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), the governments of Canada and Alberta are jointly investing more than $731,000 over the next five years.

This funding will support three key 4-H Alberta programs:

• Intro to 4-H Program: This initiative provides experience-based learning opportunities, fostering connections between urban and rural youth and local farmers and ranchers.
• Agriculture Safety and Mental Health Workshop: A new program that integrates farm safety and mental health education through hands-on activities like equine therapy, benefiting both rural and urban youth.
• Senior Spring Symposium: Expands mental health education for youth in agriculture, addressing the stigma associated with mental health challenges in farming communities.

Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, emphasizes that 4-H has been supporting young people in agriculture for over a century.

“Through this hared investment in 4-H Alberta, I’m so pleased to support their efforts to build connections between urban and rural kids, develop safety and mental health programming, and guide our agriculture sector into the future,” says Minister MacAulay.