Every spring, in quiet humility, 4-H clubs from around Manitoba hit the rural roadways for their annual highway clean-up campaign. In collaboration with Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI), these volunteer youth give up one Saturday a year to give back to their communities by collecting the refuse that litters our province’s shoulders and ditches.
“We had 13 clubs participating this year,” says 4-H executive director Shannon Carvey. “We have clubs from Virden all the way up to The Pas and Portage down to Clearwater, so there’s a really great representation from across the province.”
Carvey has no idea how long Manitoba 4-H has been involved in the campaign, but she knows that it predates her childhood years in the program many decades ago.
Only a global pandemic was enough to derail the program for a time, but by 2022 4-H clubbers were back at it in full force. Their work beautified more than 100 kilometres of highway last year.
4-H club members range in age from 6 to 25 years. The international youth organization has over 130 chapters across Manitoba.
The mandate of the program is the same as it was in 1913 when the first club got started in Virden, Manitoba: to provide its young members with skill development, leadership, and citizenship training.
In 1947, the 4-H club established the Provincial Communications Competition to drive home the importance of public speaking skills, and this remains a cornerstone of the club to this day.
While the 4-H program still operates in partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, membership isn’t restricted to rural kids with farm connections.
Believing in their motto, “Learn to do by doing,” the club offers options for kids of all backgrounds to get involved in more than 80 different skill-building projects such as photography, outdoor living, machines, woodworking, hands-on science, and equine, among many others.
The name 4-H represents the long-standing pledge uttered by many a clubber over the past 100 years: “I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service, my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
Ashley Nolin and her family live just south of Niverville. Her two sons are enrolled in the Grunthal 4-H chapter. The boys’ grandmother was also a member of 4-H many years prior and spoke highly of her experiences there.
“My husband and I both grew up in cities,” Nolin says. “Now, with living in the country, we felt disconnected. A friend of our oldest son suggested the club in Grunthal for her son and ours to join together. We also have a small hobby farm with sheep and chickens and thought it would be a great way for the boys to learn more about our animals.”
After just three years of involvement with 4-H, she can already see the incredible values and skills instilled in her children.
“The communications component has helped them become better public speakers,” says Nolin. “[They’ve learned] life skills such as sewing and navigating the wilderness with a compass.”
It’s also provided the boys with opportunities to tour farms and volunteer at the agricultural fair and in soup kitchens. They’ve built connections, comradery, and friendships with other kids from across the province.
When it comes to events like the highway clean-up campaign, it provides an opportunity for entire families to get involved in doing something good, together.
