“Helping Communities Grow” is a Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter recognition program organized by the Nutrients for Life (NFL) Foundation. This year 4R Nutrient Stewardship was identified for use within one of the program project areas. The recognition program provides FFA chapters an opportunity to create ways their communities become better informed about the positive role of plant nutrients, fertilizers and related agricultural issues through educational, community building and hands-on activities. Founded in 2004, NFL provides science based information to educate people about the valuable role of fertilizers in feeding the growing world. Within the program, students in each FFA chapter develop a community based project using the NFL educational curriculum “Nourishing the Planet in the 21st Century.”
Projects teams must select from one of the project themes; this year’s themes include Nourishing Our World and Keeping the Earth Green. Within Keeping the Earth Green, project performance areas related to the 4Rs include balancing soil nutritional needs, improving or maintaining air quality, and protecting water quality. Objectives to be met within each chapter project include improved awareness of the importance of soil nutrients and their role in feeding a growing population among community members, increased understanding among chapter members of the positive role of plant nutrients and fertilizers, and new or elevated working relationships between FFA chapters and the local plant health and fertilizer business community.
NFL encourages chapters to be innovative in their approach and consider a variety of verbal, written and artistic demonstrations to achieve their goals. Project teams are eligible for monetary prizes with chapter winners receiving $5000, and most will receive $500 for submission of a completed project. Program details are available on the NFL website, or for more information, contact [email protected] or (800) 962-9065.