Cooperative Extension Central Sierra 4-H
ReThink Your Drink!
November and December proved to be exciting months for Belleview School’s 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students enrolled in PM Club and 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who attend Jamestown Youth Center after school. UC Cooperative Extension’s Nutrition and 4-H programs partnered with the youth to provide training on curriculum intended to have youth “ReThink Your Drink”.
Staff from the Health Education Council came after school to lead youth in activities which taught them how much sugar is in some of the refreshments they drink every day. Youth learned how to calculate the teaspoons of sugar in energy drinks, soda, and juice and then measured sugar into baggies as a visual representation. Students then worked together to organize the information into a Prezi Presentation, posters, and a short video.
Six students from Belleview attended the November School Board Meeting and demonstrated what they learned. Posters created by youth at the Jamestown Youth Center were hung up during their annual Thanksgiving meal. Part of the grant monies covered youth enrollment in Tuolumne County 4-H for the 2013/2014 year. Twenty youth chose to enroll and will continue working during afterschool hours on 4-H Projects including videography utilizing equipment purchased with grant funds. The grant also purchased six infused water dispensers. These dispensers can be used at school events to ensure students have healthy non-sugar sweetened beverage options. In addition, six students from Belleview were able to travel to Sacramento, visit the Health Happens Here exhibit at the California Museum, and present their projects to other youth throughout the state who have also been working to “ReThink Your Drink”.
The Tuolumne County Health Department has an additional incentive for the youth to educate their peers on the importance of drinking water. If the students make a presentation that proposes changes to the Belleview Schools Wellness Policy to include language regarding access to safe drinking water, the Health Department will purchase a hydration station that allows students to refill water bottles easily at school. Students from Belleview will make their presentation to the school board at the February meeting.