Thriving Forward

Healthy Soil > Healthy Plants Spring is the season where gardeners start prepping, planting, and pampering their gardens. As a gardener newbie myself, I am learning how to grow peas, long day onions, garlic, and other plants. To help me learn, I have several trusted colleagues that I can consult,…

IntroductionRecently I had the privilege of speaking at the State 4-H shooting sports meeting in Red Bluff, CA, on the topic of youth mental well-being. Leading up to the presentation, I was a little nervous. I did not know the audience. Also, there can be stigma around the topic of mental health and I wasn…

IntroductionYouth don’t learn in a vacuum—they learn in different places and with different people. Learning can happen at school, while hanging out with friends at the park, or in a 4-H community club. All of these contexts provide youth with opportunities to interact with others and with their environments…

Why 4-H partners with schoolsDid you know that 4-H offers youth programming for schools? In Placer, Nevada, Sutter, and Yuba Counties, our 4-H programming extends beyond clubs and camps and goes all the way into our school systems. Currently, we offer a variety of youth programming options for schools…

Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) shows how traumatic events, or life experiences that cause psychological distress (Gradus & Galea, 2022), that occur during childhood (0-17 years) have profound implications on an individual's long-term health and well-being, physically, mentally, and...