The Scotland County 4-H gardening club kicked off Earth Day on April 22, 2021, by learning about the importance of nature, and how our day-to-day actions affect the environment. 4-H’s slogan is “learn by doing;” afterward, Lynne Mabry, Scotland Master Gardener assisted the youth in planting an array of flowers at the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Scotland County Center. The flowers included gerberas, marigolds, petunias, salvias, celosias, creeping jenny plants, and more.

Monthly, the 4-H club leaders and Scotland Master Gardeners, Linda Edwards and Ng Lee lead the 4-H'ers in fun, hands-on activities of the NC State University’s “Just Grow It” pilot program. The curriculum is an 8-session outline that engages youth in lessons to learn how to plant vegetables, care for and harvest plants to eat. In addition, the youth will explore soil, bugs, plant problems, and more. This program is supported by Scotland County 4-H and an NC State University grant.

The 4-H garden club collaborated with the City of Laurinburg to complete a community service beautification project at the corner of Atkinson and Fairley Streets. To prepare for the beautification project, two months ago, the 4-Hers planted seeds of sunflowers and zinnias to give the flowers a jumpstart before adding them to the corner bed. To prep the bed for planting, the youth put on their gardening gloves to remove weeds, grabbed gardening tools, and cleared debris including bottles from the bed. The adults tilled the land to add soil for efficient growing. Bonnie Kelly, a Master Gardener℠ volunteer in Scotland County, and volunteer assisted the youth in planting the flowers and brought irises to accent the edges of the flower bed.

The Scotland 4-H garden club is recruiting new members. The club meets on the second Thursday of each month at 3:30 p.m. at the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Scotland County Center, 231 East Cronly Street, Laurinburg, NC. To join the club and for more information, please contact Angela D. Galloway, Extension Agent of 4-H Youth Development at (910) 277-2422.

4-H is North Carolina’s largest youth development organization, equipping more than 263,000 young people each year with the skills to succeed and improve the world around them. 4-H programs and camps encourage young people to “learn by doing,” helping them to develop into active, contributing citizens. NC State Extension and the Cooperative Extension Program at N.C. A&T State University coordinate 4-H programs statewide.

NC State Extension is the local and statewide outreach provider of North Carolina’s preeminent research enterprise – NC State University. NC State Extension translates research-based knowledge in the areas of agriculture, food and nutrition, and 4-H youth development into everyday solutions that create economic, intellectual, and societal prosperity for North Carolina.

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