Connecting Preschool and Head Start Children to the Outdoors

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 along with local preschool and Head Start teachers from Tustin, Leroy, Luther, Marion and Mesick attended the workshops and received two activity guides filled with age-appropriate, researched based lessons for use in the classroom and Kettunen Center outdoor programs.

In December, the Kettunen Center staff visited all the schools to set up bird feeding stations and involve the children in hands-on activities such as Habitat Hunt and Who Am I? This year, multiple one-day field trips are scheduled at Kettunen Center for the children to experience the outdoors all four seasons.

The workshops and field trips were funded by the Early Read First Program of Wexford Missaukee Intermediate School District and the Osceola County Community Foundation. The Pine River Chapter of Audubon also had an interest in early learners, and donated the book, Wild About Michigan Birds by Adele Porter, for each classroom and Wild Birds Unlimited of Traverse City provided discounts for bird feeders & seed. Andrea Grix, Kettunen Center Education Program Coordinator, is hopeful the success of these programs will lead to additional grants to expand the program.

Kettunen Center appreciates all the funding and donations in support of 171 local preschool children and their parents for the purpose of learning and connecting with the outdoors!

Youth create Gardens for Wings

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 wildlife through schools and other community efforts.

“Kettunen Center is a perfect place to showcase and model native plants and pollinators,” Quist said. “Kettunen Center has contact with so many people throughout Michigan, and hopefully when guests stroll through the butterfly garden, they will take ideas back with them to their community.”

Quist explained that creating a garden to attract pollinators is important because one out of every three bites of food that humans consume is the result of pollinators. Pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, ants, beetles and humming birds. Examples of food crops that require pollinators are apples, blueberries, sugar cane and sugar beets.

“Many plants would not produce fruit without bees and other pollinators,” Quist said.

Youth in the Gardens for Wings project planned a butterfly garden at Kettunen Center and another around a new city pavilion in McBain. Activities included a presentation and game teaching why improving habitat for pollinators is necessary and important, presented by Quist. The youth then presented their butterfly garden project idea to the McBain city council.

Over the summer, the youth planted the garden at Kettunen Center and learned about native wildflowers and preferred plants as host plants and nectar plants. They will plant the garden in McBain this fall.

“The gardens are showcasing Michigan’s natural heritage by providing nectar to native animals and plants,” Quist said.

The garden at Kettunen Center includes decorative pavers using cement and stained glass pieces. Jenny Gray, Wexford County MSU Extension master gardener, assisted the youth in planting the garden.

“The kids had a good time arranging the plants in their garden while learning about flower colors, height and the need for shade or sun exposure,” Gray said.

The Gardens for Wings project is made possible by a grant from the American Forest Foundation’s Project Learning Tree Green Works! program. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an environmental education program for educators and their students in grades pre-K through 12. Green Works! is its service-learning, community action program.

Originally published in the Fall 2009 issue of Vantage.