For many young people 4-H means hard work, community involvement and achieving goals.
The organization also offers young people the opportunity for adventure, to try new things both at home and away.
Every summer youth from across Canada take part in an exchange. This year 10 members from District 35 were matched with a group from Prince Edward Island. The group spent 10 days in this region in July and 10 days in August in Prince Edward Island. They spent time together as a large group and time with their billet families exploring the very diverse parts of the nation.
"It was 20 days, 20 kids and 20 awesome experiences," said Maidstone Gully Multiple 4-H Club's Betty Dekker, chaperone for the local young people including four from the Maidstone club.
"There were a lot of firsts for everyone, for some it was the first time they put their foot in an ocean, for others it was ziplining or flying or eating lobster," she said.
Members of the local club enjoyed swimming in the ocean and found Magnetic Hill weird and fascinating. They tried the seafood and Kassidy Doepker really like the mussels but said she wasn't a fan of the oysters.
Jordi Skolrood liked visiting the ocean but not the jellyfish. Jordi enjoyed the airplane while Doepker didn't, especially when they faced turbulence.
Meckenzie Dekker explained they toured from eastern tip to the northern tip of the island taking pictures and seeing the sights. The group saw lighthouses, narrow streets and cramped together houses and red dirt as part of a landscape very different from home. There were potato fields instead of canola and the ocean air was hot and humid.
The participants all found different things to appreciate and would all like to return to the island some day recommending a cultural exchange to anyone.
