Winners Selected for Esri's GIS Grants for 4-H Program

REDLANDS, Calif., March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Esri has awarded grants to 4-H groups in 10 states in its 2013 GIS Grants for 4-H Program. For almost 10 years, 4-H youth clubs across the United States have participated in the program, using ArcGIS to explore and analyze problems in their local communities. The club's involvement with GIS has increased so much that the theme for the 2013 4-H National Youth Science Day Experiment focuses on geospatial and geographic technologies.

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Grant winners include Bisbee High School 4-H Club (Bisbee, Arizona), Linn County 4-H Geospatial Club (Mound City, Kansas), Camden County 4-H Teen Council (Cherry Hill, New Jersey), Robo-Rocketeers (Kellyville, Oklahoma), 4-H GIS of Jackson County (Central Point, Oregon), Union County 4-H Club (Maynardville, Tennessee), Green Team 4-H Club (Phoenix, Arizona), Douglas County 4-H Clubs (Lawrence, Kansas), Cyber Explorers 4-H Club (Cape May, New Jersey), 4-H Beef Club (Ramona, Oklahoma), Washita County 4-H (Cordell, Oklahoma), Jefferson Middle School GIS 4-H Club (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), NAE4-HA Geospatial Task Force (Sterling, Colorado), LSU AgCenter—Orleans Parish (New Orleans, Louisiana), UMass/URI 4-H SET (Worcester, Massachusetts), and Cornell University (Ithaca, New York).

"This grant will open the world to the youth in our rural county, as well as open their eyes to community improvements in which they can make a positive difference," says Mary Peck, coordinator for the Washita County 4-H in Cordell.

The Oklahoma club will use ArcGIS Online to create a community-oriented map that focuses on the availability of healthy foods for county residents. Club members will learn about the benefits of whole foods, nutrition, and stores where healthier foods can be purchased. They will use GIS to gather data about the distance to these stores. This project ties in with the Washita County Kids' Farmers Market, which features produce grown locally by Washita County 4-H members.

"Over the years, many clubs have developed robust GIS programs," says Esther Worker, Esri youth community manager. "Geospatial sciences and technologies are included in the Oklahoma State 4-H Program through summer institutes at Oklahoma State University as well as workshops at district and statewide conferences. 4-H clubs across the United States are partnering with local GIS professionals on relevant GIS projects and often display their maps at the local county and state fairs."

Esri has supported 4-H clubs with its GIS grant programs since 2004. To date, more than 600 grants of ArcGIS software and Virtual Campus training have been awarded to selected clubs, enabling those members to learn and use GIS technology in their community service learning projects.

Learn more about Esri's 4-H and other youth programs at esri.com/youth.

About 4-H

The 4-H Club was founded in Ohio in 1902. Since that time, it has grown to become the largest youth organization in the United States, with more than 6.5 million youth members and adult leaders. It is part of the United States Department of Agriculture. For more information, visit www.4-H.org.

About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.

Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, ArcGIS, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

SOURCE Esri

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