One hundred and two 4-H members and dozens of volunteer leaders enjoyed a weekend of fun and learning at the South Coastal 4-H Judging program, held July 17th and 18that Saanich Fairgrounds.

4-H members primarily from the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island started the weekend with lunch and some leadership activities coordinated by B.C.4-H Ambassador Kate and 4-H alumnus Kenny. After lunch members attended a seminar on preparing written reasons delivered by experienced 4-H judges. Then members began a variety of judging classes including: Goat, Poultry, Sheep, Mini horses, Swine, Foods, Sewing and Photography. The skill of judging is learned in the 4-H leadership program in order to develop skills in critical thinking and decision making. After the judging was complete 4-H members feasted on a Greek style dinner of BC products and then participated in a swim pool party. Sunday’s activities included a pancake breakfast followed by an agriculture trivia contest and mini demo sessions including: fitness, duct tape, wool craft, dog agility and honey bees. The weekend came to a close with an awards ceremony. CIBC presented the awards to the top aggregate winners for 2010:

The program was organized and run by a team of volunteers from Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley. The organizing committee chaperones, and delegates of South Coastal 4-H Judging Weekend 2010 would like to thank the many generous sponsors that helped support this valuable opportunity for learning and fun:

CIBC Agriculture Dept.
Knights of Columbus 8629
Comox 4-H District
Direct Plus - Brian Smith
Coast Capital Savings
Cheshire Cabinets
Purdy's Kitchen
Thrifty Foods
Verico Select Mortgage
Buckerfields - Saanich

Saanich Parks & Recreation
Firbank Farms
VI 4-H Junior Camp
Pacific Rim Vet Hospital
Panorama Recreation
Oldfield Orchards
H20 Zone
Peninsula Co-op
BC Ministry - Agriculture & Lands
Port Alberni Farmers Market

Congratulations to all 4-H participants, chaperones and organizing committee members for a job well done.

Thanks for making South Coastal 4-H Judging a great success!

Fifteen outstanding members from British Columbia have been awarded 4-H Scholarships totaling over $47,300 to assist in their post-secondary education. To read more, see here.

Twenty-six 4-H members from across the province travelled to Kelowna July 1-4th, 2010 for the B.C. 4-H Provincial Communications Program. This is the first year that B.C. 4-H has combined the Provincial Public Speaking and Provincial Demonstration competitions into one action-packed weekend. To read more, see here.

Twenty British Columbia 4-H members have been awarded travel opportunities. The opportunities will involve outstanding young adults participating in various seminars, conferences and leadership programs during the next year.

Travel opportunity recipients were selected based on their past 4-H involvement, individual opportunity preference, leadership potential, and program participation. A key element in selections is to match delegates to an opportunity that fits the individual and will provide the environment for maximum leadership and youth development.

The 2009 National 4-H Skills (and Thrills) Conference certainly had its fill of skills - learning to count by ‘two and a halves’ - and thrills, like the Haunted Forest tour. The conference for me consisted of four days at the Delta Hotel & Conference Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We started off with an O.O.P.'s day for the out of province delegates who arrived early. There was shopping, check-in to the hotel, and then off to the corn maze for a BBQ and tour of the Haunted Forest. After our long flights and busy day we were all beat, and returned to our rooms for some rest. We still had a long three days ahead of us.

The tour of the legislative buildings in Winnipeg came the next day; where we learned about Manitoba's history in government, and a little about the buildings as well. When we returned to the Conference Centre the other delegates from Manitoba had arrived. There was quick meet and greets to be done and then right down to business. The theme of the conference this year was "Communication, more than just talk". Our guests demonstrated this idea very successfully. We took part in an auction, conversed with a deaf man, watched a police officer and his dog in action, and had the famous Manitoba radio host, Ace Burpee, speak at our banquet.

The weekend sped by much too quickly and I soon found myself saying goodbye to the other delegates. On my flight back to BC I was thinking of what to tell other 4-Hers in my province about the Skills and Thrills Conference. All I could think of was that along with my other 4-H experiences this will be one I won’t soon forget. Being my first national conference, and out of province experience in 4-H, Skills and Thrills opened up my eyes to how diverse 4-H is across Canada. I would like to thank all the sponsors, guest speakers, and coordinators who made this conference and opportunity possible for me and all the other delegates.

submitted by Jasmine, Chilliwack, B.C.

From May 1st to 5th youth from around the province met for an action-packed weekend at Agri-Career Adventure 2009. Twenty participants from 16 to 22 years of age joined the charter bus tour in Abbotsford and explored agriculture opportunities throughout the Fraser Valley and Thompson-Okanagan regions. They experienced firsthand the diversity of agriculture in BC with tours including a rainbow of colours, a taste of cheese, a touch of grapes, a glimpse of technology and ride in an apple cart. One participant, Allena Cave discovered, "I didn't realize all the possibilities agriculture has to offer."

In addition to seeing BC agriculture and career options, participants enhanced their career planning skills. Sessions included self-marketing through skills awareness, resume building, and expectations for job interviews. The last day of the tour allowed participants to meet one-on-one with agriculture professionals to learn about their stories as well as practice professional networking skills.

Thank you to all of the tour hosts, guest speakers and professionals for taking the time to share their passion of agriculture and inspire youth towards a future in agriculture. We would also like to thank our generous sponsors for their support: BC Youth in Agriculture Foundation, Westgen Endowment Fund, Canadian 4-H Council, BC 4-H Provincial Council and the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

To see the tour in action, visit our trip blog at Agri-Career Adventure 2009.

This year I attended Agri-Career Adventures 2009 where I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. My adventure began when I left with my fellow 4-H member Amber Bently from Kamloops to take the long trip to the Summit Pacific College. Upon our arrival we were assigned rooms and settled in. Afterward orientation began with introductions and a highly enthusiastic banana dance. To follow was a couple of slide shows outlining 4-H careers and other stuff we should know.

The next day the tours began with Fresian Equipment where we were given a tour and taught the basics of tractor management. The fact that interested me most was the close contact the customers were given with the dealership. Our next stop was Rainbow Greenhouses where we toured the multiple greenhouses, occasionally getting wet along the way. An intriguing part I found was that they use pine beetle mulch to run their boilers, as well as using flood floors.

The next tour was The University of the Fraser Valley which fed us pizza, much to our delight. They outlined their agriculture courses and I was impressed with how friendly the people were. Our last tour of the day was the UBC Dairy research farm where eyebrows were raised at just how closely the cows are watched. Their ear tags are equipped with a chip that records which cow is at the food trough. The bar slides down and the information of how much that cow drinks or eats is recorded. We observed how the cows were milked as well, which was fascinating. After that there was the tortuous ride back to Kamloops where we ate, and slept at the Maverick Motor Inn.

Day 3, we went to the Bald Eagle Land Ranch. We learned about the white finishing of cows on grass. It is supposed to be better for you than grain finished beef. We also got to see the set of Flicka 2, much to the disappointment of everybody, Clint Black was on his day off. Then we traveled to Demille's Farm Market and learned about direct farm marketing. We enjoyed lunch and the presence of a variety of animals. Tour stop number seven was Happy Days Goat Dairy where we explored the process of making cheese and eating it, too. The people were very friendly. Back on the bus we practiced our interview skills before dinner. Finally we got to bed at the Cadet Training Centre in Vernon.

Day 4, our first stop of the day was Davison Orchards Country Village. We learned about the pollination of apple trees and the process of selling goods for what they are worth. This was one of my favorite stops. The next stop was not really a tour but we got lunch and got to learn about Farm Credit Canada and their lending business.

Tour stop 10 was also among my favorites. We learned about grafting apple trees and the union worker honey bees,(the Bumblebees are much harder workers). We also learned of the challenges of going organic and why our host chose to in the first place. We observed the emus that also lived on this farm, and some of us bought eggs. We also got to hear about the exchange program WOOFA, where people from different countries get to come and work on farms for the experience. The emu meat was delicious and completely fatless. Our next destination was Clement turf farms were we got to meet the new and improved turf harvesting machine which was fascinating. It packed the harvested sod neatly on the back of the tractor.

Our last stop was the Summerhill Pyramid Winery where we learned about the wine making process, but to the disappointment of many we didn't get to drink any. We endeavored to explore the pyramid and dinner was exquisite. On the long dreaded trip back to Summit Pacific we practiced our networking skills.

The next morning we got to network with professionals who were very helpful and educational. Our last career session was the wrap up. Then lunch, the food as always was very good on the entire trip and Summit Pacific was a lovely setting. No complaints there. Our last activity was Agricultural jeopardy and prizes. The only thing I would change is the Family Feud held at the Department of Agriculture and Lands in Vernon, as the answers were either not there or almost impossible to guess.

Overall I had a lot of fun even if lost a lot of sleep in the process. I encourage every 4-H member with an interest to attend the next one, you will learn a lot and meet a lot of friends.

Eleven senior 4-H members from across the province and the Yukon travelled to Kelowna April 17-19, 2009 for the Provincial 4-H Public Speaking competition. These top speaking participants had competed at club, district, and regional levels to be awarded the opportunity to attend the provincial event.

Friday evening the delegates were given the chance to present to each other their prepared speeches that had brought them to this exciting opportunity in a non-competitive atmosphere. After this they got to know each other during a fun and relaxing game of cosmic bowling.

Saturday started bright and early with the delegates being whisked off to three local agriculture locations. The first stop was Tower’s Ranch, where the delegates tromped through snow, and learned about both rangeland and woodlot management. From there, the group went to the Kelowna Farmer’s and Crafter’s Market where they learnt about the ups and downs of marketing and selling home grown/ made products, and had some time to check wander through the market and see what was available. The last stop was at Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisans. Here the delegates learnt about the cheese making process and got to sample a wide variety of goat cheese that they make on site.

After the tours the delegates were given their impromptu topic, "What are some challenges that agriculture in Kelowna faces". The delegates were given one hour to prepare their speeches and up to 4 minutes to deliver them.

We would like to congratulate all of the participants on their speeches and announce the top 2009 speakers:
1st - Chay Keenan-Toop - 150 Mile House
2nd - Shannon Palmer - Port Alberni
3rd - Amanda Byers - Vanderhoof

A special thanks to our fabulous judges, Robert Hobson, Stan Combs, and Margaret Stokman. Thank you to the Kelowna District Committee for hosting the event, the host families that billeted all the delegates, and Kyra Casorso, a local 4-H Ambassador who was the MC for the weekend. We would also like to thank the Agrium 4-H Youth Leadership Initiative Program for their generous support of this rewarding program.

BC 4-H is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to youth development. The program provides over 2900 young people with an opportunity to learn how to become productive, self-assured adults who can make their community a good place in which to live. This is fostered through project and program work, experiences with other 4-H cub members and leaders through participation in district, regional and provincial programs such as Provincial Public Speaking.

For More Information Contact:
BC 4-H Office
Box 490, #1-904 Maud Street
Enderby, BC V0E 1V0
Phone: 1-866-776-0373
Fax: 250-838-0343

I recently spent seven days in Ottawa at the National 4-H Citizenship Seminar. It was one of the best weeks of my life. At CitSem I met new people from all over the country, learned about Canadian government, toured Canada's capital city and gained a better understanding of what it means to be Canadian.

The first day of my trip was spent in the many airports and airplanes between B.C. and Ottawa. Most of the delegates for the program were not scheduled to arrive until the next day so the other BC delegates and I had the evening to ourselves though we were so tired we did not do much anyways. The next day we acted as greeters to the delegates from the nine other provinces. I also had a little bit of time to do some sight seeing in the beautiful city of Ottawa. That night we had an opening banquet and an introduction to the program. The third day of my trip was the official start of CitSem 09. Our first activity was a guided bus tour of the city. After taking many pictures we stopped at the Museum of Civilization for lunch and a tour of the museum. Afterwards we took a bus to Fulton's Maple Sugar Bush where we had a tour, a pancake dinner and a country dance. It was a blast learning to square dance with all of my new friends. The next day was just as busy. We started off with "Parliamentary Jeopardy" to learn a little more about Canada's system of government. After a little time to prepare, each province went up in front of the group and did a skit about 4-H in their province. It was quite entertaining. I did not know that Canadian 4-H started in Manitoba or "Tug-of-War 4-H" existed.

On the fifth day of my trip we all got dressed up in our business attire to go to a citizenship ceremony to watch the swearing in of new Canadian citizens. That was a very interesting experience. We had a quick tour of the Supreme Court of Canada and then some rare free time. Later in the evening the talented 4-Hers got a chance to show their stuff at the talent show. There were singers, dancers and musicians. I was very impressed. The next day of CitSem was very important. We had our MP luncheon where we went to the parliament buildings to have lunch with our MPs. My MP was unable to attend but it was still pretty cool to be at such a formal event. While at parliament we also watched Question Period in the House of Commons and met with Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House. In the evening we had our debate. The topic was "Be it resolved that every person who is a Canadian Citizen and is 18 years of age or older on polling day, is qualified as an elector and holds the mandatory duty to vote." The debate was one of my favourite parts of the trip.

The next day we had a tour of the parliament buildings and visited the Canadian War Museum. The museum was very detailed and interesting. We also had out final banquet and dance that kept us up until the early morning. The next day was the end of CitSem. It was very hard to say goodbye to all my new friends and go my separate way. My week in Ottawa was a truly memorable experience that I will never forget. I have so many pictures and friends to remind me of the great time I had at the National 4-H Citizenship Seminar.

Kim

My name is Alana Kulchar and this year I had the pleasure to travel to Toronto in November for the National 4-H Members Conference! I had never been to Eastern Canada before so it was quite an adventure! I won my trip by attending Provincial Club Week earlier in the spring.

The coordinators had planned a jam-packed agenda with various tours, guest speakers and recreational activities. We learned about different types of agriculture, listened to motivational speakers and toured a little bit of Toronto and the surrounding area.

I was fortunate to see the first Urban Wind Turbine in Toronto. This was amazing because B.C hasn't yet begun to harvest wind energy due to our hydroelectricity. However, 20% of P.E.I.'s energy comes from the wind!

We also visited the CN tower and I went all the way to the top in the elevator and walked on the glass floor! We also went to Niagara Falls: Another first for me! Most of the delegates took advantage of this and went in the tunnels under the falls. It was quite wet and cold! One of my highlights was going to the Royal Winter Fair and seeing all the cows that came in. I talked to many 4-H members setting up stall and getting ready for show!

I would encourage every 4-H member to take advantage of what 4-H has to offer: especially in its provincial and national programs! I met so many people across the country in provinces I have never been to before! It was so interesting to learn about how the 4-H program differs across the country, but how similar it also is! 4-H is a great tool for net working! I encourage every member to stay in 4-H until the end: you never know where it can take you!

The word of the week was Agriculture as forty-nine 4-H members from around the province converged on Trinity Western University in Langley to take part in Rural Urban Connections 2008. Farm smells in a subdivision, preserving agriculture lands, farm diversification, agri-tourism and bio-security were just a few topics explored by delegates from July 1st to 6th, 2008.

Massive development in the Fraser Valley has created many concerns between the rural and urban communities. Guest speakers addressed the group each morning, touching on a variety of issues related to today's agriculture industry with the help of a number of different hands-on activities and informative videos. Each afternoon saw the delegates boarding the bus for the day's "Rural Road trip" a group of tours meant to highlight the day's topic.

For the whole story and to see some pictures from this great event, see here.

Fourteen outstanding 4-H members from British Columbia have been awarded 4-H Scholarships totalling over $24,000 to assist in their post-secondary education. The complete list of winners is available for viewing and download here.

In planning out your 4-H year, take a minute to consider taking on a fun and challenging opportunity such as a Junior Leadership, Self-Determined or Senior Management project. There are a vast number of interesting and exciting options available to you so just take a minute and discuss it with your Leader and get on board!!

Leaders and Awards Coordinators - if your members haven't already come to you with ideas, go to them!!

To find out more about this great oportunity, see here.

For the past several years, CYSA has been included on the 4-H Ontario website, but it has now reached the point where an independent site is considered desirable. CYSA Inc. thanks 4-H Ontario for the opportunity to be a part of their website, as well as their continued ongoing financial support.

Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture Inc. is a public speaking competition open to all Canadian youth, aged 11 to 24 years. A competition is held each year as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in November. The 2007 Competition is November 3. This year marks the 23rd edition of the Senior Division for ages 16 to 24; the Junior Division, unveiled in 2006, is for ages 11 to 15. Participants must prepare and present a five- to seven- minute speech in either English or French. Contestants may choose from a list of five topics pertaining to timely agricultural issues, which can be found on the website at www.cysa-joca.ca. Generous cash prizes are awarded to the six finalists in both divisions. The Senior Champion receives $1,000, while the Junior Winner is awarded $500.

"The establishment of our own website is one of the most significant achievements in the history of CYSA Inc. Our ability to communicate with all Canadian youth, and in fact, anyone interested in Canadian agriculture, will be greatly enhanced by the development of www.cysa-joca.ca. The opportunity to be included on the 4-H Ontario website, while CYSA evolved, was very much appreciated, but now it is time to be on our own," states President Ted Young.

Come and visit the new website at www.cysa-joca.ca for full details on the competition. You can also obtain more information by contacting Ted Young, or by phone at (519) 824-9253. The deadline for applications is September 28, 2007. The new on-line application process makes entering the competition fast and easy. It is still possible, however, to receive and return an application by mail as before.

Major sponsors are Farm Credit Canada, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Pioneer Hi-Bred Canada and 4 H Ontario. Numerous other Sponsors provide assistance at the national, provincial and local levels.

Canada Safeway Limited
Attn: Public Affairs
7280 Fraser Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V5X 3V9

CANADA SAFEWAY BC 4-H SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA

1.   Amount of scholarships - five $1000 scholarships.

2.   Entry closing date is April 15th of the current club year.

3.   Scholarships may only be won once by the same member, however non-successful applicants may reapply.

4.   A 4-H member may apply for the scholarship for two successive years after graduating from grade 12.

5.   Applicants are required to submit an essay, maximum 400 words, answering the question: What have you done and what do you plan to do to improve your community?

6.   Applicants must have been active 4-H members for at least two years in British Columbia or have been registered as 4-H members within the past two years.

7.   For those scholarship winners unable to enter the university or school the year they have been awarded the scholarship, funds will be held in trust by Canada Safeway Limited for a maximum of one year from the time the award was made.

8.   Proof of entry to university or school of the applicant's choice must be forwarded to the Canada Safeway Limited office before the scholarship is paid. Payment will be made directly to the school.

9.   The scholarship is available for use at university, technical or vocational school in any field of study.

10. Canada Safeway Limited will administer the scholarship.

11. The scholarship selection committee will be appointed by Canada Safeway Limited.

12. Results will be announced to applicants by July 15th annually.

13. All applications are to be mailed to the above address.

Canada Safeway Limited
Attn: Public Affairs
7280 Fraser Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V5X 3V9

CANADA SAFEWAY BC 4-H CLUB BURSARY CRITERIA

1.   Amount of bursaries - ten $500 bursaries.

2.  Entry closing date is May 15th of the current club year.

3.  Bursaries may only be won once every three years by the same club, however non-successful applicants may reapply.

4.  Clubs are required to submit a brief letter and photos describing, "What your club does to improve its community".

5.  Payment will be made directly to the clubs awarded the bursary.

6.  Canada Safeway Limited will administer the bursary.

7.  The bursary selection committee will be appointed by Canada Safeway Limited.

8.  Results will be announced to applicants by July 15th annually.

9.  All applications are to be mailed to the above address.