9 minute read
Youth in Agriculture
PALS: LEARNING EVENTS MONTGOMERY AND AUTAUGA COUNTIES
BY JAMIE MITCHELL
There is nothing quite like fall in Alabama when the hot days begin to yield to cooler nights and football becomes everyone’s favorite topic of conversation! We certainly love fall here at Alabama PALS when the Clean Campus Program kicks into full swing and the Coastal Cleanup means thousands of residents and visitors will help pick up those last pieces of debris left over from summer fun. We hope as you enjoy the cooler weather to come, you will make some time in your calendar to join a local cleanup or consider signing up for the Adopt-A-Mile program. It is also our hope that as schools get back into their routines, they will join the Clean Campus Program and be more mindful of litter on their campus and in the community.
Over the summer, we had a chance to participate in some learning events to spread the anti-litter message to students in Montgomery and Autauga Counties. In Montgomery County, we were happy to partner with the Alabama River Foundation to speak at the 2nd Annual Riverfront Rendezvous. This event brought in 160 students from Montgomery Community Centers and Boys & Girls Clubs to give them an opportunity to learn more about keeping our rivers clean, river safety and river wildlife. Each child also had the opportunity to ride on the “Sip and Cycle” Pedal Cruise, which was the first time many of these children had ever been on a boat!
We were also honored to partner with Autauga County 4H to speak at a special “Under the Sea” summer camp held at Daniel Pratt Elementary School. This was another opportunity to speak about keeping our Alabama waters clean and how our trash affects Alabama wildlife. The students were given pencils made from recycled newspaper as well as Clean Campus coloring books to help reinforce our message.
As we look to close out 2024, please contact us if we can help with cleanups in your community or to sign up for any of our programs. We can be reached at (334) 263-7737 or at info@alpals.org. You may also find us online at www.alpals.org.
MONROEVILLE 4-H: COMMUNITY ART NURTURES YOUNG TALENT
BY CAROLYN DRINKARD
It has been said that artists bring meaning to forgotten elements. That’s what 4-H art students in Monroe County did when they joined with Monroeville Main Street to beautify public spaces in the downtown area. They took a blank space on a shipping container and transformed it into a colorful point of interest, which tells the unique stories of 4-H and its impact on the children of Monroe County. The youngsters’ creation is now part of a mural trail for visitors to enjoy.
Becky Brooks, the 4-H Art leader, and 16 students worked for eight days with local artists, Katie Watson and Tee Stallworth, to produce a unique and colorful mural on the Small Box Shop, a business located on the Square in downtown Monroeville. After Becky and Alan Brooks created a design and projected it onto the wall of the container, the students painted the mural, which depicts several familiar 4-H projects like Chick Chain, RiverKids and Art.
In the mural project, 4-H students discovered that they could use colors and shapes to make others see things they had never seen before.
“It was amazing to see each of our parts come together to make a larger, even more beautiful creation,” said Mackenzie Peeples (14).
Being a part of creating something so special fostered a sense of ownership and pride among the young people.
"We wanted to provide a platform for our club members to express themselves creatively while contributing to the aesthetic appeal of our town," remarked Misty Powell, Monroe County 4-H Youth Development Coordinator. "This mural embodies the spirit of community engagement and artistic expression that we strive to cultivate in 4-H.”
Creating public art helps youngsters connect to their community's cultural heritage while developing a strong sense of civic responsibility.
“Our 4-H Art program has continued to grow over the past few years,” Powell added. “Our art club members are constantly trying new things and pushing themselves and their artistic abilities through individual and group projects.”
The mural project gave Monroe County 4-H'ers the opportunity to showcase their talents on a much larger scale, as Monroeville has become a literary hub, attracting thousands of visitors each year.
“I love to see people taking pictures of our mural,” stated River Hickson (7). “It makes me feel proud and happy.”
Powell emphasized the satisfaction youngsters felt in their work. “I feel like this is something that they and many others will get to see on a daily basis and know that they each had a special part in its completion,” Powell stated. “They can take pride in knowing that they were a part of not only promoting the 4-H program, but promoting everything our community has to offer and adding to its beauty in the process.”
SPOTLIGHTING WEAVER FFA
BY MADELYN CONE AND JACKSON CLEARY
The Weaver FFA Chapter has been up to some amazing things this year. Our chapter has grown the livestock program from eight to 20 hardworking and dedicated exhibitors. We established a member’s breeding operation and had a successful first litter, as well as had members that exhibited the Supreme Grand Champion Breeding Gilt and the Reserve Grand Champion Market Hog at the Alabama National Fair. In terms of contests this year, we have won the state dairy competition this October with a group of three seniors and one junior. Our Land Evaluation team will be advancing to the state competition in June.
Our members have participated in countless community service projects including our current Christmas Toy Drive for foster kids in our community. We are also very involved in our communities' activities, including attendance at the Weaver Heritage Day on September 9, 2023, hosting the Calhoun County Special Needs Rodeo in conjunction with the Calhoun County Annual Rodeo on September 19, 2023, attending the Fall County Fair from October 18 to October 21, 2023 and more. It is safe to say the members of the Weaver FFA Chapter have strived to make a positive impact in their homes and communities this year through living to serve.
In addition to our accomplishments, our chapter has implemented programs to extend the impact of agriculture education in our schools. Our officers have established a Peer Mentor Program for first-year members to learn the ins and outs of our chapter from a well-equipped senior mentor. As a chapter, we participated in National Teach Ag! Day on September 21, 2023, by creating a lesson on the importance of ag education. Later in 2024, we plan to take agriscience education to the elementary school with our “Little Cats Learn Ag” event and teach our elementary school students and staff a little bit about agriculture and how it provides for them.
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Along with all of these events, we have had monthly chapter-wide meetings where we have fun activities and grow friendships between our members, our officers and everyone in between. Each monthly meeting relies solely on our officers who plan them. They do everything from plan our activities, to organizing announcements and informing the members, to even planning what food we will have at each meeting. At every meeting, we average about 75-80+ members that show up, so our ag shop is packed. We have many more meetings planned in the future and we cannot wait to have them!
Last but not least, one big thing that has happened and will continue to happen is our “Monday Momentums.” Each Monday, two of our officers, Madelyn Cone and Jackson Cleary, plan a lesson on everything ag. They teach these lessons in their respective classes with one class they're both in. Each lesson teaches upon the different values the National FFA Organization instills in each member. They teach about Premier Leadership, Personal Growth, Career Success, and general agricultural information. These “Monday Momentums” are very beneficial to not only the students but these two officers as well. Both Cone and Cleary plan to attend Auburn University following high school to acquire their degrees in Agriculture Education. The lessons that they create and teach every Monday are able to help them with skills that will follow them throughout their careers. Cleary is one of the 2023-2024 Central District officers; this aids him in his chapter visits. Whenever he has chapter visits, he can test out some of his lessons on his own peers and use that knowledge to give other members the best experience possible.
