The 4-H Outdoor Wilderness Leadership & Service program (OWLS, for short) is for youth in grades 6 and up who are interested in learning about the wilderness and building their leadership skills. Meeker County 4-H member Maisy Geurts recently completed her year in the OWLS program.
Geurts says she is in her third year of the program and got to go to the Boundary Waters her first summer and learned how to canoe, set up camp and how to survive in the wilderness. She says the project has also included an opportunity to educate other children about the importance of pollinators.
Geurts says she has a pollinator garden at home where she grows milkweed, black-eyed susans and other plants that are helpful to butterflies and this summer, she will focus on plants that are helpful to bees. She says she’s been in 4H for 9 years – with the Kimball Kruisers 4H Club – and she plans to stay involved as long as she is able, and she hopes to continue spreading awareness and growing her pollinator project.
Maisy says she’s now a member of the OWLS Flock. Flock members are former OWLS participants who were selected to come back as youth leaders. Maisy looks forward to assisting with the program through 2025. For more information about 4-H or the OWLS program, go to extension.umn.edu or call 693-5275.
