The REACH mentoring group and Carlton County 4-H are partnering to prepare a Youth Advisory Board to work as camp counselors for the Bee Friendly Arts Camp from Aug. 2-6 .

Dylan Kelly, the 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator for Carlton County, will be conducting a training series for REACH’s Youth Advisory Board using iNaturalist and Seek by iNaturalist apps, developing a comic book on pollinators, and creating a lesson plan using 4-H’s Experiential Learning Cycle.

Once trained, the REACH board will practice lesson plans and apply them during the Cloquet Forestry Center’s Forestry Adventure Camps in July. Youth board members will also practice lessons on pollinators to prepare as camp counselors for Bee Friendly Arts Camp.

The camp is hosted by Encore! County Seat Theatre, The Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, and REACH. It is for those ages 10 to 15 and will use an arts-based, service-learning approach through a student-led design process for creating the curriculum and during the camp itself. The camp’s goal is to help students see that they can help change the world with their creativity.

Supporting pollinators is a positive expression of our region’s shared concern for each other and the environment.