P.O. Box 209
359 Blue Lake Road, St. George, ON
N0E 1N0

Projects

Growing a Healthier You
June 2013

Take 10 - Attend a 4-H event in your area - Talk about your 4-H experience with a friend or at your next meeting - Volunteer to help a 4-H (or other youth club) Club in your local area for an hour, a day or longer - Explore what projects are available to 4-H members in your province - When did 4-H begin in your province - How many members, leaders and clubs are there in your province - In some provinces Women’s Institutes have a strong relationship with 4-H clubs in communities – if this is so in your province explore the history of that relationship - If you have a WI pen friend – do they have 4-H in their area? 4-H is in over 80 countries around the world

Tool Kit www.4-h-canada.ca Explore your provinces 4-H website

Growing a Healthier You
May 2013

Take 10 - Take time for yourself every day. Even 10 minutes just for you! - Bring a non-member friend to your Women’s Institute meeting - Spend time with your mother or if your mother is deceased share a favourite memory of her with someone - Be a ‘mum’ to someone in your community whose mother is not in the area or has passed away. - Celebrate a special event in your life - Plan a fun day for your family – maybe a special meal or a short trip in your local area

Tool Kit www.mentalhealth.asn.au www.cmha.ca/

TOAST TO FARM WOMEN 2012
She is amazing.
She is one of a kind.
She is curious.
She is on the move – grain hauler, kid taker and parts picker upper.
She is a 4-H Leader.
She is a volunteer.
She is a super hero – able to leap fences, cow pies, and children’s toys in a single bound.
She is a bookkeeper, organizer, delegator and coach.
She can teach by her wisdom and lead by her grace.
She is a warrior.
She is a goddess.
She is ravishing – in her barn boots, her garden hat, and her apron.
She is charming.
She can weather anything – sunshine, snowflakes, and sparkling rain.
She is ingenious.
She is a wife, mother, a chauffeur, a domestic engineer, a chef, a gardener, a gate minder and a partner.
She is everything in between.
She is inspiration.
She is strength.
She is amazing.
She is You!

Written by Joanne Baker, PHEc
Rural Leadership Specialist
Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives, Virden MB
For the 2012 Provincial Farm Women’s Conference in Manitoba
Adapted from Breast Buds “A Toast to Women”

Growing a Healthier You
April 2013

Take 10 - Look for the signs of spring in your area - Share gardening tips with others - Share your spring cleaning tips with others - Give 10 (or pick your own number) pieces of clothing you haven’t worn in 2 (or more or less) years to a church rummage sale. - Host a kids or adult clothes swap - Plan your own garden in your area - Start planning for a community garden - Start some seeds with your children/grandchildren - Share a garden tip with others

Tool Kit www.markcullen.com www.reena.ca/ Check out these Canadian websites for gardening tips, cleaning tips and much more.

Growing a Healthier You
March 2013

Take 10 - Eat a new ‘green vegetable’ on March 17 - Try a new vegetable recipe - Spend time reading seed catalogues to find a new vegetable/fruit you might plant in your garden - Enjoy a pot luck meal with a group of friends - Consider the hungry in your area – can you volunteer at a local food bank or make a donation - Shop locally for all the food that you can - Bake with your children/grandchildren - Volunteer with a lunch program at your local school - Share your favourite recipe with someone

Tool Kit www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health www.peakmarket.com/recipes Here is a link to vegetable recipes from Peak of the Market. Cheesy Corn Soup 2 slices bacon cut finely ¼ cup chopped onion 1 14 oz can cream corn 1 ½ cup milk ¼ tsp pepper ½ tsp dill weed ½ cup grated cheddar cheese Cook bacon and onion together in a deep sauce pan. Drain off excess fat. Add corn, milk, cheese and spices. Heat over medium heat stirring often to keep the mixture from sticking

Growing a Healthier You
February 2013

Take 10 Take 10 minutes to connect or reconnect with someone this month.

• Write a letter

• Send an e-mail

• Talk to someone new

• Phone a Friend

• Visit with a shut-in person in your neighbourhood or at a hospital or personal care home

• Volunteer somewhere

• Set a ‘date’ night with your significant other or a friend

• Do something with your grandchild(ren)

• February 17-23, 2013 is Women’s Institute Week – reconnect with members of disbanded branches/locals or past members.

Tool Kit www.pauseworks.com An online newsletter that you can sign up for. It gives you a reason to Pause and read Pat Katz uplifting thoughts and ideas.

Other ongoing projects

• Agriculture in the classroom

• Rural child care

• Legal rights for women

• Literacy in rural areas

Projects completed

• FWIC-Into the North

• Nutrition & Catering Project in Tanzania

• Lorgot Farmers Group Project in southwest Kenya

• International Project Novisi Weaning in Ghana

• History Book of WI

• Revitalization Discussion Paper

• Rural Child Care Survey

• "Safety is a Family Affair"

• Brief to Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies

• Agriculture instruction school for convenors

• "Cooking Collections" cookbook

• Health Education and Learning Workshops

• Position paper on Rural Renewal

• Rural Women & Substance Use project

• Presentation to Standing Committee on Social Reform

• Madge Watt memorial erected in Montreal