The Minnesota 4-H State Ambassador team is kicking off a year-long focus on taking action to improve the environment and they need your help to make a big impact. From September to June, the state ambassadors are encouraging youth all over Minnesota to complete a service challenge each month as part of this year's Minnesota 4-H statewide service project.
Upcoming service challenges
The service challenge for September is park clean-up. You are asked to find a nearby community park and help clean it up.
October's challenge will be to build bat houses. Did you know that bats are pollinators? They pollinate plants to grow the food we eat. In addition to pollinating, bats eat bugs - like mosquitos. Building a bat house gives these important animals in our ecosystem a safe space to rest as they don't have a place in the wild to sleep.
This is why, during October, you are challenged to build a bat house and hang it in your yard or at a public park with permission. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) provides instructions on how to build your very own backyard bat house.
For November’s service challenge, youth are asked to work as a group to host a compost collection site for pumpkins and gourds. You will need to work with your community to identify a compost site. This could in your own yard, at a nearby compost center or even a local farm (chickens love pumpkins). Composting or using pumpkins as feed stops them from being added to landfills. Also, composting pumpkins in your own yard can provide fertilizer to use in your vegetable gardens and flower beds.
Share with us
As you complete your monthly service challenges, share with us in two ways:
- On social media using #GoGreenWithMN4H
- Complete the service reporting form
Thank you all for participating! Together we can make a positive impact on the environment in Minnesota.
If you see a need in your community that doesn’t fit this year’s theme, you are more than welcome to work on it. This planning packet can be helpful as you pursue your own service project.
Find out more about this year's service challenges and how you can get involved.