Matthew Burns went to Westbrook Walnut Grove High School where he was active in YES! during his Freshman and Senior years (2014 & 2018). The main projects Matthew worked on included plastic bag recycling, making braided bracelets out of bags that couldn’t be recycled, collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and his favorite project was taking old incandescent bulbs and turning
Laq qui Parle Valley YES! Team Enjoys an October Paddle
Written by Taylor Templer, West Central Coordinator Are you dreaming of warmer weather? We are! On October 10th, coach Rachel Rigenhagen and students from the Lac qui Parle Valley YES! team went kayaking at Glacial Lakes State Park to learn about aquatic invasive species (AIS) and water quality with West Central Coordinator, Taylor Templer. The group kayaked Signalness (Mountain) Lake which
YES! students learn how to make sense of Minnesota’s changing climate
Written by Deb Groebner, Southern Coordinator YES! students and coaches from around the state gathered online Oct. 28 to learn “How to Make Sense of Minnesota’s Changing Climate,” presented by Dr. Kenny Blumenfeld, climatologist with the MN Department of Natural Resources. “Minnesota’s climate is getting wetter and warmer,” Blumenfeld told the students. More precipitation is falling during
YES! Kicks Off the Season with a Virtual Fall Summit
Written by Shelli-Kae Foster, Deb Groebner, and Taylor Templer YES! launched its first virtual Fall Summit on September 30th with over 70 students and teachers in attendance. The theme for this year was “Climate Change in Minnesota.” The virtual event included numerous interactive components such as polls, charades, and guessing games to keep participants engaged. Sydney Bauer, a recent
YES! Students Paddle Into Summer
Written by Taylor Templer, West Central Coordinator On June 24th I took four students from the New London-Spicer YES! teams out kayaking on Lake Andrew in New London to survey for aquatic invasive species (AIS) and test water quality. To prepare for the summer surveying, students attended a session on water quality at the 2019 YES! Fall Summit where they learned about water quality and how to
Sam’s Farewell
Written by Sam Horner Hi everyone, this is Sam Horner, the Northeast Regional Coordinator for the YES! Program. In 2014, I accepted a position with the Minnesota Green Corps and this was my first introduction to the YES! Program. I worked with Jim DeVries to expand the program in the Northeast Region of Minnesota. It was an exciting time and we did a lot of great work to make the program a