2021 EXPLORE NORTHERN IRON COUNTY BACKYARD ADVENTURE MONTH

The 2nd annual Explore Northern Iron County Backyard Adventure Month, planned in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Iron County, took place throughout the month of September, 2021. Everyone was welcome to participate in the adventure, which included:

• 19 UNIQUE, NATURAL & HISTORIC LOCATIONS

• 4 PRIZE BASKETS ($1200 value)

• FAMILY FRIENDLY FUN

Participants were encouraged to visit as many locations as they could during the month of September for a chance to collect points and a chance to win some really cool prizes. What a great way to learn more about the unique, natural, and historic locations that Northern Iron County has to offer!

Participants were also encouraged to keep track of their adventures using a checklist found in the 2021 Explore Northern Iron County Backyard Adventure Month booklet. In order to qualify for prizes, participants were required to submit completed checklists to the Extension Iron County office or email to benicer@nicer715.com by Thursday, September 30, 2021. There was also a chance to earn extra credit points for anyone wanting to share photos of their adventures on Facebook and Instagram (using the hashtags listed in the booklet) and by sending them to the email address above.

54 participants turned in checklists (36 adults, 18 youth) and over 75 people participated. Out of all 54 participants who turned in checklists, 23 had visited all 19 locations and collected bonus points for a total of 50 points each. Those adult (18 total) and youth (5 total) entries were separated and two random drawings were completed to determine the winners of the adult and youth prize packages. The remaining 52 participants were entered into a random drawing for the last two prize packages. Congratulations to this year's winners:

ADULT ADVENTURE PRIZE - ANNA DAHLBACKA

YOUTH ADVENTURE PRIZE - ARIANA LUND

RANDOM DRAWING #1 - GAVYN KOSKI

RANDOM DRAWING #2 - TINA ROMOSZ

We are already thinking about next year's adventure, with plans to expand our locations south to make this a county-wide event! If you know of any locations in the Mercer and Springstead area that you would like to see added to next year's event, please email us at benicer@nicer715.com.

Thank you to this year's sponsors who generously donated funds and prizes to this event: Iron County Development Zone, Iron County Forestry, Edward Jones (Ken Saari/Hurley office), White Cross Pharmacy, Whitecap Mountain Resort, Copper Peak, Gogebic Range Health Foundation.