Paving the Way to Kett!

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 fix the road that provides the main entry and exit to the center.

This fall something exciting is happening at Kettunen Center. Thanks to our friends that have made donations we are able to pave 4-H Drive up to 145th Avenue. The project is scheduled to be completed by November 1, 2010, so the next time you visit us, you should have a much smoother entry.

Donations are still needed to fulfill the entire financial commitment. If you would like to help, please contact Jamie for a "Pave the Way to Kett" donation form.

Paving the Way Fundraiser!
Footliters Dinner Theater
October 10, 2010
"Angel Street"

Mark your calendar! What a better way to help Kettunen Center pave the road! Join us October 10th for a Footliters production of "Angel Street," a Victorian thriller. A reception will begin at 4:45 p.m., followed by a delicious buffet dinner at 5:00 p.m. and then the play will begin at 6:30 p.m. A significant portion of the proceeds will go to the "Pave the Way to Kett" fund.

New Kettunen Center outdoor features include disc golf

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 forested area along the Red Fox Trails. The course – complete with disc golf baskets, cement tee pads and tee signs – is an environmentally friendly course built around existing trees and trails. The course was designed by Seth Hopkins, Lake County MSU Extension 4-H educator, and installed by Kettunen Center staff members.

“It is a nine-hole beginner course to be used for educational purposes and as a pasttime at workshops and other conferences,” Hopkins said. “I helped set up the par and design the actual course. We limited cutting to anything 3 inches and under, and most of the course is on trails that were already there.”

Hopkins also is involved with a disc golf 4-H club in Lake County. The club has eight members and meets two days per week for skill drills and has a league night.

“We have club trips planned to Kettunen Center,” Hopkins said. “The goal is to get the kids out to different courses. We also hope to have youth participate in the [disc golf] state finals.”

Kettunen Center’s disc golf course was supported by an MSU Extension 4-H Participation Fee Grant. The grant also provided funding for a disc golf course at Baldwin schools, new 4-H club development in Lake County, the use of the Educational Disc Golf Experience (EDGE) curriculum, the purchase of a variety of official disc golf discs, and future train-the-trainer workshops at Kettunen Center.

Additional outdoor enhancements at Kettunen Center include:

• The Butterfly Garden, located in the Kettunen Center arboretum, with a new solar-powered bird bath fountain. The garden, created last summer by the Tustin Explorers 4-H Club and several Cadillac-area home-school families, models native plants that attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. The fountain serves as both a bird bath and as a water source for pollinators.
• The MAX (Mobile Adventure Experience), a 32-foot-tall climbing wall, which arrived last spring at Kettunen Center. The wall provides both physical and mental challenges and serves as a team-building activity that can be built into both youth and adult conferences at the center.
• New landscaping. Four MSU Extension Master Gardener students spruced up the outdoor garden landscapes at Kettunen Center. The students, along with Jenny Gray, Wexford County Master Gardener and Susan Alexander, Master Gardener and owner of In Harmony of Gardening by Design, volunteered their time and resources providing new garden design ideas, selecting plants and supplying mulch and other materials at a discounted rate.
• A quilt trail block. Kettunen Center is now a part of the Osceola County Quilt Trail. A quilt trail is a route containing a number of wooden blocks that are painted to resemble quilt squares and then mounted to host structures. Together they form a self-guided tour. The exterior of Red Oak Hall boasts a Rising Star 4-H quilt pattern, which honors all the 4-H rising talents. The quilt was designed in collaboration with the Osceola County Quilt Trail. The block was funded by a grant from the West Michigan Quilters’ Guild. Currently there are 13 quilt blocks in Osceola County, including the one at Kettunen Center.
• Two new kiosk panels featuring Kettunen Center Nature Trails and Living Green on the outdoor kiosk located beside the sidewalk between the White Pine Lodge and the Mawby Learning Center. The kiosk was sponsored by gifts in memory of Margaret and Francis Grix in 2003. The Nature Trails panel features the 3½ miles of marked nature trails and includes professional photographs of wildlife species donated by local artist Charles St. Charles, of Hoxeyville, Mich. The Living Green kiosk panel outlines Kettunen Center’s commitment to “green” practices, programs and environmental monitoring, and offers guests tips for conserving natural resources. It also recognizes Kettunen Center’s steward level of certification from the Green Lodging Michigan Program, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth.

To receive Kettunen Center updates like these, sign up for the Kett Monthly e-newsletter at www.kettunencenter.org!

Originally published in the Fall 2010 issue of Vantage.

Celebrating Fall, Friends & Firewise!

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 day of activities will include:
• A live animal presentation of the Nature Discovery program by Jim McGrath.
• The Amazing Hummingbird program by Julie Dyer.
• The Black Bear in Michigan presentation by Cadillac Area Land Conservancy.
• Hands-on outdoor activities including canoeing, kayaking and fishing on Center Lake, disc golf instruction, outdoor nature hikes, Monarch Butterfly tagging and watercolor painting.

The event activities will take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The Family Fall Fest registration will start at 9:30 a.m. and the Firewise Garden ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 1 p.m. The Friends of Kettunen Center donors are encouraged to participate in all the activities throughout the day with a special appreciation program during lunch, 12 p.m.-1 p.m.

To register for the event call Kettunen Center (231) 829-3421 by September 15. Please let us know if you are attending as a Friend of Kettunen Center or as a Firewise Garden ceremony participant or coming for the all day Family Fall Fest.

Winter Retreats Are Just Around the Corner!

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!

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 Kettunen Center’s disc golf course and a course at Baldwin Schools was supported by a grant from the Michigan 4-H Participation Fee Fund Competitive Grant Program. The grant also provided funding for new 4-H club development in Lake County, the use of EDGE educational curriculum, the purchase of a variety of official disc golf discs, and the opportunity to offer future train-the-trainer workshops at Kettunen Center. Be sure to try out the new disc golf course during your next visit to Kettunen Center. (Sorry, the course is not open to the public.)

Fall Family Fest

Sept. 18, 2010
10 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 5-10. Register by Sept. 14 to Kettunen Center at (231) 829-3421 or kross@kettunencenter.org.

A Fresh New Look, With a Little Help

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 owner of the “In Harmony Gardening by Design” business in Buckley, Michigan, provided new garden design ideas, selected the plants, supplied mulch and other materials at a discount.

In conjunction with Susan’s guidance, the “worker bee” volunteers of the project Jenny Gray, Pat Marlow and Andrea Grix, dedicated over 12 hours of their time and expertise weeding, pruning, and planting. In addition, Pat Marlow donated large rocks from her home to contribute to the new garden design around the large White Pine tree next to the main entrance. The results are truly vibrant and aesthetically pleasing thanks to the work of these volunteers and will certainly please our guests.

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

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 yoga, blasting off with homemade rockets, exploring with a magnetic energy compass, building a high powered catapult, creating energy-inspired art plus all the really fun "campy" things like: hiking, swimming, camp fires, s’mores, friends and more.

JUST ADDED: Campers will be able tackle the 32' climbing wall "The MAX."

Camp brochures can be downloaded from our website or e-mail Kama Ross and she will get one right out to you.

LSA Camp is for:
♦ Boys and girls ages 9-14
♦ 4-H Members and non 4-H Members

*Scholarships may be available. 4-H members should contact their county MSU Extension office. Campers who are not 4-H members should contact Kama Ross at Kettunen Center for more information.

Osceola County Quilt Trail

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 Quilt Trail is a route containing a number of wooden blocks that are painted to resemble quilt squares which are then mounted to barns or other host structures. Together they form a self guided tour. Currently there are 13 quilt blocks in Osceola County, including Kettunen Center.

Quilt trails stretch across 24 states, celebrating rural heritage and life, encouraging communities to come together to tell their stories about the land and the people. For more information about the Osceola County Quilt Trail, please contact the Osceola Economics Alliance at (231) 832-7397.

'Take Me Fishing' at Kett

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 program focuses on getting children, ages 3 and older, families and adults outdoors to enjoy fishing year round, lake ecology, canoeing, kayaking, nature study, snow science, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and bird watching for learning, physical fitness and an appreciation of Michigan’s natural water resources.

“The overall goal for the Take Me Fishing initiative at Kettunen Center was to involve 2,000 youth and adults in fishing, boating and water-related educational program activities this year,” said Andrea Grix, Kettunen Center education coordinator.

The Take Me Fishing program is funded by a grant from the National Recreation and Park Association provided by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. The grant funded the purchase of new ice fishing equipment and supplies, including an ice shanty fishing shelter for programming and an ice auger. It also funded life jackets, a new paddleboat, repairs to the dock and the resurfacing of the handicapped-accessible trail to the Kettunen Center waterfront.

Grant subsidies for programs meant lower fees for participants of the Take Me Fishing Family Fun Day, the Winter Family Fun Day, one-day 4-H TRACKERS school field trips and multi-day overnight camps and a Project WILD curriculum workshop for educators.

Originally published in the Spring 2010 issue of Vantage.