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4-H AND HIGH SCHOOL RANGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN ARIZONA
Author
Tolleson, Doug
Astroth, Kirk
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2015
Body

4-H is the youth education program of each state's land grant university. As of the early 2000's most western US states had, at one time or another, a 4-H range, forestry, wildlife or other natural resources project. At that juncture, however, most of the curriculum was outdated and did not incorporate the current state of knowledge and technology. Unfortunately, most state Extension Services were not willing to invest in revising 4-H range materials. In 2004, a multi-state, multi-partner collaborative group consisting of county and tribal extension and 4-H agents, The Nature Conservancy, Society for Range Management, Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission, Boone & Crockett Club, USDA, and university range management faculty received funding to revise these materials. The specific charge to this collaborative group was to develop a new land resources curriculum that could be used in 4-H as well as other educational environments such as camps, home schools, public schools, and after-school programs to educate youth about rangeland ecology and management. The curriculum is intentionally designed to inform and educate non-traditional extension audiences and non-agricultural audiences so that they gain an appreciation for the importance of our natural resources to supporting a modern lifestyle. The initial target audience is youth in grades 4-6. All curriculum components are posted on the “Rangelands West” family of web sites. The National FFA organization provides agriculture education for high school students. FFA has activities geared toward such subjects as soil, range and pasture judging, plant identification, and wildlife. Envirothon is a national environmental education competition, the 2014 subject matter was sustainable rangelands. Range Rocks! is the youth outdoor experiential learning effort of the V Bar V Range Program. Over 200 high school students have participated in hands-on range management activities at the ranch. Arizona Cooperative Extension is involved in each of the described programs.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Sacramento, CA
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts