Colville Tribes honors 4-H Positive Youth Development Program

The Colville Tribes this week recognized and honored the Colville Reservation WSU Extension 4-H Positive Youth Development program.

The 4-H Positive Youth Development program educates young people with hands-on experiences, such as distributing seed bombs on burned sites and organizing Family Nite Out events, the Tribes stated in a press release Monday for National 4-H Week, October 7 – 11.

In 2023, the program received awards for excellence in natural resource and environmental education. Youth who participate in 4-H gain valuable life skills such as responsibility, problem solving, critical thinking, and accountability. It specifically promotes healthy living. Research shows that young people who participate in 4-H activities are four times more likely to contribute community service, twice as likely to engage in healthy activities, and twice as likely to participate in STEM activities, the Tribes said.

“The Colville Tribes honors and respects the 4-H Positive Youth Development program and all of the people who make it possible,” said Tribal Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson. “We are fortunate to have too many program partners to list here, but I am grateful to all of them. I want to thank all of the volunteers for their selfless work and dedication, and I want to especially recognize Linda McLean, the enrolled Colville member who leads the program and provides a wealth of experience and knowledge to benefit the youth in our community.”

In 2014, the Colville Tribes reached an agreement with Washington State University (“WSU”) to house a WSU tribal Extension 4-H program on the Colville Reservation that would be equivalent to 4-H programs in the neighboring counties. Today tribal youth may opt to join Colville Reservation 4-H clubs or county 4-H clubs.

4-H runs on volunteers. There are currently four 4-H clubs on the Colville Reservation with 17 volunteer leaders and 61 enrolled 4-H members. These leaders give their time and energy to provide safe activities for youth which include cooking, shooting sports, crafts, photography, sewing, and working with horses and livestock. All projects are designed to develop skills that young people will carry into adulthood.