Natural Resources & Environmental Education
With our nation using natural resources at a phenomenal rate, we are looking at depletion of many of our resources. Environmental education is a must if we hope to preserve and build our Nation’s resource base, so future generations can live with the luxuries we enjoy today. While teaching our youth about responsible use of our resources, 4-H incorporates activities which foster leadership, communication, decision making skills, and accountability. Alabama 4-H has the unique resources of faculty at two land grant universities as well as professionals in 67 county offices across the state to offer program support and opportunities to youth in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Programs are not only offered to youth through field studies at the Alabama 4-H Center, clubs, conferences, and individuals projects, but also schools have the ability to access 4-H resources and personnel for classroom and after-school learning.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED
4-H provides youth hands-on experiences that teach leadership and teamwork skills in a variety of activities. 4-H offers outdoor adventures in which cooperation, communication, and problem solving are necessary to complete activities while youth from diverse backgrounds work together. By utilizing youths' fascination with the living world in a variety of environments, Alabama's 4-H Natural Resources & Environmental Education (NREE) program currently reaches 19, 000 youth and offers learning experiences in the areas of land management, water management, outdoor recreation, and the urban environment. Youth are urged to critically examine information and make decisions that will benefit themselves as well as others. While making these decisions, they must explore their options, set goals, and work together--skills that will serve them in the future as responsible citizens and employees.
WHY 4-H NREE?
The popular press and public interest groups rank Alabama's environmental health low. This perception is based on knowledge of public drinking water systems that violate the Safe Drinking Water Act, acid rain, contaminated groundwater, air pollution, sites with substantial hazardous waste, the nation's largest hazardous waste landfill, and weak regulatory agencies. These same sources will admit, however, that the state ranks high for navigable streams, the number of species of saltwater and freshwater fish, bio-diversity, total area available for timberland, and pulpwood harvested.
As human populations continue to grow and expand into rural areas, we place increasing demands on Alabama's natural resources. Therefore, there is a need for youth to understand their link to the natural environment and the need to conserve and manage these resources.
THE NREE PROGRAM
Currently 19,000 youth participate in 4-H NREE programs designed to help young people explore their interests and expand their awareness of the world they live in so that they will grow up to become responsible adult decision makers. A minimum of six hours of learning in school clubs, special interest clubs, county field days, county or state camps, or team membership is facilitated by an Extension staff member Environmental Educator, paraprofessional, or trained volunteer leader.
THE NREE PROGRAMS
THE NREE PROGRAM EVALUATION FORMS
NREE LEADER TRAINING
THE NREE EVENTS & RESULTS
THE ENVIROINFO NEWSLETTER
THE NREE LINKS
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