EXPLORE NORTHERN IRON COUNTY BACKYARD ADVENTURE MONTH

Last year, NICER partnered with the Hurley Chamber of Commerce, Iron County Health Department and Whitecap Mountain Resort to bring you the Explore Northern Iron County Scavenger Hunt. When it came time to start planning this year's scavenger hunt, it became clear that like many other local events, the COVID-19 pandemic would create a few roadblocks. The Iron County Health Department was the main event organizer last year, but they have been extremely busy keeping Iron County residents safe and informed during the pandemic. So, NICER decided to get creative with planning the next scavenger hunt, with the support of Extension Iron County.

NICER members Ken Saari, Kelly Traczyk and Rebecca Holm (Extension Iron County) took the lead on this project. After much discussion about the unique natural and historical locations that are available right in our own backyards, the scavenger hunt was transformed into the Explore Northern Iron County Backyard Adventure Month. What a fun way to learn more about Northern Iron County!

Organizers narrowed down 15 locations in the Northern Iron County area, categorized by a point system based on travel and trail difficulty. Participants encouraged to visit as many locations as they can during the month of September for a chance to collect points and win some really cool prizes!

Participants kept track of their adventures using a checklist found in the Explore Northern Iron County Backyard Adventure Month booklet. In order to qualify for *prizes, participants were required to submit completed checklists and photos from each destination, via email at benicer@nicer715.com or online at https://tinyurl.com/ironcountybackyardadventure.

NICER received checklist and photo submissions from 13 participants. The hashtag #ironcountybackyardadventure was also used in social media posts shared by participants and showed that there were others who participated just for fun (but did not submit photos or checklists). Check out this year's winners below.

NICER is looking forward to planning a similar event in 2021. Stay tuned!

Thank you to the following sponsors who generously donated prized to this event: Iron County Development Zone, Iron County Forestry, Edward Jones (Ken Saari/Hurley office), White Cross Pharmacy, and the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce. NICER appreciates your support.