4-H turns dry lake into scientific opportunity
Summer camp in Minnesota brings to mind images of water activities, especially when the 4-H camp is right on a lake. But when Lake Bronson was drained for work on a dam, Extension 4-H Educators Kaiya Novacek and Sandi Weiland flashed their 4-H optimist badges.
“Honestly, I think it is really neat with the dry lake bed, and now there’s lots of greenery growing in the bottom,” said Novacek. “It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see a drained lake.”
4-H campers, led here by Heidi Pulk, 4-H volunteer and Outdoor Adventures Camp chaperone, found bison bones, arrowheads, pottery, fossils and agates, as well as a sense of scientific wonder that will last well past summer.
Almost 100 young people, including 4-H’ers whose leadership abilities have risen to the level of camp counselor, attended the camp. Besides lake bed exploration, they learned about ATV safety, archery and wildlife, and played water games, no lake required.
Highlights
- Extension has conducted a small grains pest and disease field survey in western Minnesota, including Kittson County, in collaboration with North Dakota State University. Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council wheat check-off dollars help the effort to inform producers and the research community of the presence of disease and pests.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Craigmile family
- Bethany and Kris Folland are 4-H Northern Lights Salute to Excellence honorees. Together, they lead the Halma Ideal 4-H Club. By encouraging youth in agriculture and guiding community service projects, their volunteer work is rooted in a deep belief in the potential of every young person.
- Through 4-H state-to-state exchanges, Kittson County has hosted 4-H’ers from Arizona, California, Virginia and New York. Minnesota 4-H’ers have then gone to those states. Matches are made with consideration for individual interests.
- RSDP impact: The city of Lake Bronson, with RSDP support, is partnering with U of M graduate students to study a proposed campground’s potential usage, operating costs, amenities, concerns and design. The report will aid community engagement and solutions.
- Jeremy Benson, a district technician in Kittson County, participated in Class 15 of the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation District Leadership Institute. Participants build proficiency in critical areas like communication, team building and visionary leadership that provide them with the skills to do effective conservation work across Minnesota.
Kittson County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Kittson County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.