VNP offers Rainy Lake campfire program
Voyageurs National Park is offering a naturalist campfire program every Thursday until Aug. 13th from 7-8 p.m. at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.

The campfire program is open to the public, free of charge and family-friendly.

Join a naturalist around a campfire and enjoy roasting marshmallows while learning about the park. Led by teacher-ranger-teacher, Mike Barnes of Bloomington Kennedy High School, the program focuses on the tradition of campfires and past cultures that have lived and worked in the area that is now Voyageurs National Park.

In case of inclement weather, the program will be held inside the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.

For additional information call the Rainy Lake Visitor Center at 218-286-5258 or for more information on Voyageurs National Park, visit http://www.nps.gov/voya.

Grant helps educators ‘Pay It Forward’
Making a fishing pole part of a youth’s outdoor learning experience became a reality this summer for 33 successful applicants in a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources program that provides educators with equipment kits that help introduce youth to fishing.

Any teacher, scout leader, 4-H leader or fishing enthusiast already familiar with the DNR MinnAqua program’s Fishing: Get in the Habitat! leader’s guide was eligible to apply for the DNR’s Pay It Forward program.

Equipment distributed through the program put 976 new rods and reels in the capable hands of energetic youth educators throughout the state.

But it also means groups that receive equipment will implement 33 creative ways of putting it to use in communities across Minnesota.