Kettunen Center Blog

Fall Family Festivities in November

2011-10-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Join us for the Fall Family Fest Nov. 12, 2011 from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Kettunen Center. Highlights of the day include a Live Birds of Prey presentation by Joe Rogers of Wildlife Recovery Association, apple tasting and cider making, interpretive fall hikes, canoeing and kayaking on Center Lake, disc golf in the forest, and discovering and tasting wild edibles. Cost per person is $7/person (

2011 4-H National Youth Science Day Celebrated

2011-10-28T09:27:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, April 9, 2011, Kettunen Center will host the annual Spring Family Fun Day. This year’s event will include sessions on geocaching and how to use a handheld GPS unit, how to use a compass, ski walking (Nordic Walking), spring discovery hike, spring craft, turkey ecology

Prime Rib Now Featured at Kettunen Center

2011-03-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

The kitchen staff at Kettunen Center are excited to offer a new menu item to all adult groups that stay at Kettunen Center for two or more nights. Prime rib will now be part of the routine dinner menu. Our culinary experts will be carving the meat on the food line for you to enjoy!

Kettunen Center: 50 years of training 4-H volunteers

2011-03-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

This year, 2011, marks the 50th anniversary of Kettunen Center.Kettunen Center opened in May 1961 as the first 4-H volunteer training center in the nation. The center was a dream of A.G. Kettunen, Michigan's state 4-H leader from 1925 to 1956. He envisioned a site where 4-H could grow through the training of its volunteers and members.In 1956, four years after the Michigan 4-H Foundation was

New in 2011: Feed the Need Project

2011-02-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

Kettunen Center is teaming up with Cadillac Area OASIS/Family Resource Center in 2011 to help feed the need.OASIS/Family Resource Center is a private, non-profit community-based agency serving Wexford and Missaukee counties that exists to strengthen and safeguard the families of our area.Founded in 1984, OASIS is a comprehensive domestic violence services program providing residential shelter and

Connecting Preschool and Head Start Children to the Outdoors

2011-01-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

Kettunen Center received a Great Parents Great Start grant in 2009 and again in 2010 that launched a series of innovative and exciting workshops, programs and partnerships for getting local kids ages 3-5 and their parents outdoors learning about nature. Project WILD’s Growing Up WILD and Project Learning Tree’s Early Learner educator workshops were held this fall and winter. Kettunen Center staff

December is a Time to Give

2011-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

This past year, Kettunen Center has been fortunate to have Bob Patterson, from Patterson's Flowers volunteer as a decorations consultant. Bob has worked with the 4-H Foundation and Kettunen Center staff to plan and refine our seasonal decorations with a theme of "natural yet elegant". He has volunteered at Breakfast with Santa since it began 29 years ago. Bob has served as a Michigan 4-H

Paving the Way to Kett!

2010-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that people who have had the opportunity to discover, explore and grow as a result of training, workshop, and/or retreat experiences at Kettunen Center have appreciated the natural learning environment created by the lakefront, wetlands, forest lands, accommodations and food. But, if there is one complaint that we hear consistently - despite all the good - it is that we need to

New Kettunen Center outdoor features include disc golf

2010-09-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Michigan’s 4-H volunteer training and conference facility, Kettunen Center, now offers disc golf as a new outdoor recreational activity for guests.Disc golf is played like traditional golf but instead of using a golf ball and golf clubs, players use a flying disc and try to toss it into a basket. As in traditional golf, there is a par for each hole.Kettunen Center’s disc golf course is in a

Celebrating Fall, Friends & Firewise!

2010-09-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Celebrate with us on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at the Family Fall Fest! Kettunen Center will be hosting a fun-filled day combining outdoor activities & appreciation programs and you are all invited! We will recognize our Friends of Kettunen Center donors, showcase the new Firewise Garden site and offer an event for all families to learn about nature and enjoy the outdoors.This action packed

Winter Retreats Are Just Around the Corner!

2010-09-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

Sledding, snow-shoeing & cross-country skiing, oh my! Now is the perfect time to plan for your winter workshop. Kettunen Center has a list of resources to help make your snowy get-away a success. Contact Jamie for more details at (231) 829-3421 or jmielkemitchell@kettunencenter.org.

Disc Golf Arrives!

2010-08-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Kettunen Center now offers disc golf as a new outdoor recreational activity for guests. The disc golf course, designed by Seth Hopkins, Lake County MSU Extension 4-H educator, and built by Kettunen Center staff, is set-up in a forested area along the Red Fox Trails. Disc golf is played much like traditional golf but instead of a golf ball and golf clubs players use a flying disc.Funding for

Fall Family Fest

2010-08-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sept. 18, 201010 a.m. - 4 p.m.Live wildlife presentation and outdoor activities for all ages. Participants can enjoy interpretive birding and forest hiking; canoeing and kayaking on Center Lake; watercolor sessions with local artists; a presentation by the Wild Turkey Hunters Association; and the wonder of the ruby throated hummingbird, as well as special, hands-on activities for children ages 5-

A Fresh New Look, With a Little Help

2010-06-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

This spring the outdoor garden landscapes at Kettunen Center were spruced up with the help of four MSU Extension Master Gardener students.Three of the volunteer gardeners were graduates of the 2009 Wexford and Osceola County Master Gardener Program. Jenny Gray is a seasoned Wexford County Master Gardener and has volunteered at Kettunen Center for two years. Susan Alexander, a Master Gardener and

It's not too late! Register now for Learning Science Through the Arts Camp 2010

2010-06-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Power Up! Blast Into Action with Rockets & Dance!July 11-14 (Register by July 5, 2010)$140/person DEADLINE APPROACHING FAST!The Kettunen Center will be holding their annual Learning Science Through the Arts Camp on July 11th -14th.The theme for this years camp is "Power Up! Blast Into Action with Rockets and Dance!" The camp will include fun things such as: moving it with mime, zumba, dance and

Osceola County Quilt Trail

2010-06-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Last fall Kettunen Center staff members, in collaboration with the Osceola County Quilt Trail, designed a quilt to hang on the outside of the Red Oak Lodge.Over the winter, several quilting groups helped paint the 8' X 8' structure. In May, the Rising Star quilt pattern, which honors all the 4-H rising talents, was hung. The project was funded with a grant from the West Michigan Quilters' Guild.A

'Take Me Fishing' at Kett

2010-06-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Kettunen Center has increased its water-related educational program activities through a new Take Me Fishing program grant.The initiative, which began in September, launched innovative and dynamic winter programming. It has sparked the development of new programs and the purchase of new equipment and supplies for water-related educational and recreational activities for guests.The Take Me Fishing

Youth create Gardens for Wings

2009-08-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Twenty-five youth from the Tustin Explorers 4-H Club and several Cadillac-area home school families joined forces to learn about pollinators and create two butterfly habitat gardens.Laura Quist, a National Wildlife Federation habitat steward, wanted to give back to Kettunen Center by implementing a project involving local youth. As a habitat steward, she encourages the development of gardens for

4-H workshop sponsors needed for 2009-10

2009-08-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

4-H volunteer training workshops, held primarily at Kettunen Center, provide teen and adult volunteers with professionally conducted training experiences. Thanks to the generosity of donors, 60 percent of the cost of 4-H workshops is covered for 4-H teen and adult volunteers.Workshop sponsors are sought for many of the workshops below. Full 4-H workshop sponsorship is $5,000; partial sponsorship

Kettunen Center: teaching and practicing green

2009-05-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

Kettunen Center has offered environmental education programs, such as 4-H TRACKERS, for more than 20 years. These programs, taught by Kettunen Center staff members, are designed to meet the Michigan Curriculum Framework for science standards and benchmarks.But, what isn’t so well known is that Kettunen Center staff members not only teach environmental stewardship – they practice environmental

Gerstacker Foundation supports White Pine Lodge update

2009-05-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation has been a significant partner of the Michigan 4-H Foundation and Kettunen Center for the past 20 years.It has provided support to strengthen and beautify the facility’s woodland trail and waterfront access to the Center Lake; provided additional support to cap the Vision 2021 Campaign to complete master plan updates; and provided support to renovate and name

Yoplait/General Mills funds second year of Kettunen Center health and fitness awareness initiative

2009-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Kettunen Center received a $10,000 grant from the Yoplait-Colombo Division of the General Mills Foundation, of Reed City, for a second year of the center’s health and fitness awareness initiative.Kettunen Center’s Multicounty Health and Fitness Awareness Initiative provides programs, events and workshops that promote good nutrition and physical fitness to youth and adults who live in Osceola,