Youth Articles

Discover the Park through youth focused activities and projects.

The Apostle Islands School: A Rite of Passage for Chequamegon Bay Youth

The Apostle Islands School: A Rite of Passage for Chequamegon Bay Youth

By Erica Peterson For me, the history of the Apostle Islands School reads like a logbook—full of sketches, personal reflections, images, challenges, and surprising outcomes. It’s stuffed with lesson plans, menus, Ojibwe words, and most importantly, the life changing comments and stories from over five thousand students who spent three special days in the heart of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  The Apostle Islands are among the most beautiful places in the world. Lake Superior is a master at carving a landscape, painting a skyscape, adding adventure to any experience, and instilling a...

Badges of honor: Celebrating Junior Rangers

Badges of honor: Celebrating Junior Rangers

Raise your right hand and repeat after the ranger: “I am proud to be a National Park Service Junior Ranger. I promise to appreciate, respect, and protect all national park places. I also promise to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals, and history of these special places. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.” With that oath, and a completed Junior Ranger booklet, you too can join the millions of people, the young and the young-at-heart, who have become Junior Rangers with the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS Junior Ranger program is an activity-based...

Kids paint their passion for the Apostle Islands as stewardship flags fly high at Bayfield Art Fair

Kids paint their passion for the Apostle Islands as stewardship flags fly high at Bayfield Art Fair

All the flags were flying at the Bayfield Art Fair this weekend, thanks to some very creative kids of all ages. Artists as young as a-year-and-a-half up to adults painted more than 100 flags showing their love for the Apostle Islands. The Stewards of Tomorrow Kid’s Art Booth was sponsored by the Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute’s Youth Outreach Programs with support from Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The Stewards of Tomorrow project encourages young people to recognize the importance of nature in their lives, and in particular what the National...

Experience youth stewardship art and make your own on Saturday

Experience youth stewardship art and make your own on Saturday

The Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute’s Youth Outreach Programs will host a kids booth at the Festival of the Arts in Bayfield next Saturday, September 11th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids of all ages will have the opportunity to paint a stewardship flag. Stewardship flags created by Stewards of Tomorrow participants will also be on display at the event, in Memorial Park, which is located at 2 Rittenhouse Avenue, on the lakefront. Come peruse the creative expression of local youth from this summer, and/or, join us in creating a visual representation and message about why...

Lakeshore Logbook – Kellie Weidinger

Lakeshore Logbook – Kellie Weidinger

Kellie Weidinger As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 30th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Kellie Weidinger says Apostle Islands National Lakeshore was her first job in a national park. She worked here during...

Lakeshore Logbook – Matt Welter

Lakeshore Logbook – Matt Welter

Matt Welter As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 28th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Matt Welter was the park ranger/interpreter at Raspberry Island from 1990 to 1998. What is the coolest thing you did in...

Through a child’s eyes

Through a child’s eyes

The “Most Important Things” book project brings the islands alive through the eyes, and senses, of local fourth graders. When adults gaze out at the Apostle Islands, they may see lighthouses, or a chance for adventure, or the relaxation of miles of sandy beaches to comb. But what does a fourth grader see when she visits the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore? What catches their eyes? What are the most important things in our park to them? A new book, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore: Most Important Things, may just hold the answers. Born out of a collaboration between dedicated fourth...

A is for Apostle Islands—virtual book reception and reading on April 26

A is for Apostle Islands—virtual book reception and reading on April 26

Join this celebration of the Apostle Islands 50th and the forthcoming book A is for Apostle Islands, an ABC book for all ages! Bayfield Poet Laureate Lucy Tyrrell will lead this virtual "page turn" journey from Apostle Islands and Anishinaabe to Zigzag Goldenrod. The 26 contributing artists will talk briefly about their ABC art, and the 26 poets will read their poems. The first 100 attendees can use this  Zoom link https://zoom.us/j/92422641307 with Passcode: 036742. Please join by 5:55 p.m. The program begins at 6 p.m. on April 26th.

Lakeshore Logbook – Sheree Peterson

Lakeshore Logbook – Sheree Peterson

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the ninth in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Sheree Peterson worked as a seasonal ranger starting in 1978.  "I came to work at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS) in May...

Under the surface and Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag (lakewolves)

Under the surface and Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag (lakewolves)

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS) has personally impacted the lives of people across the nation. Lake Superior permeates nearly every aspect of Park visitor experience, forming the bonds between ecological, cultural, and deeply personal dimensions of the Park. Connections between our well-being and the protected waters of the Park are important but not always easy to access, maintain or articulate for all people. Under the Surface and Zaaga’igan Ma’iinganag (Lakewolves) are sister programs that provide literally immersive experiences to teens in the Apostle Islands. Northwest...