Kyre Johnson
KYRE JOHNSON
Kyre is a rising junior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities majoring in journalism and political science with a minor in sociology of law, criminology and justice. Kyre loves getting the opportunity to listen to peoples stories and capture those moments from behind a camera. In her free time she likes to read, travel, and make rookie attempts at writing a novel.
Find her on Instagram @jourjohnson
MN Field Trip Expo provides educators with options for out-of-classroom experiences
Story by Kyre Johnson / The Hubbard School
With the school year just weeks away, teachers are thinking about more than just the classroom, they’re also planning where they might take students on field trips. On Tuesday morning, the Union Depot in St. Paul hosted the Minnesota Field Trip Expo, offering various options for expanding the educational experience.
Over 100 exhibitors from all over the United States gathered to pitch their attractions and organizations to educators, event planners and activities directors. Exhibitors include field trip destinations, educational presenters, camps, event venues, fundraising programs and entertainers.
“It's consistently been a great money-maker for me, plus you meet the best people and make a lot of connections among the vendors,” said long-time exhibitor and performer Kevin Hall.
At this time of year, there's a lot of pressure to find good field trip options for students, and this expo is the best chance of the year for educators and exhibitors in this region to get together on this scale.
"I really like coming to these events because you really just have everyone in the same area and you know I'm looking for information and all these people are here to give me information for the things I want to do coming up and that's super helpful," said Sierra Hietala, a city worker in the parks and recreation department for Little Canada.
A few years ago the expo coordinators realized that field trip options aren't the only thing educators need. Many also need a way to make these trips available financially.
Rob Cherry comes to the expo every year to offer his fundraising services for those who might need them. "I mean it just brings everyone together because not everyone has a lot of time to go to every place or research, so I think it's good that everyone comes here and it's easy for them to find a good field trip or maybe a fundraiser opportunity."
Each booth has its own special flair for attracting customers. The countless brochures and spinning prize wheels are all fun and games, with many attendees leaving with their hands full of new ideas.
“I come out of here and I just have a whole bunch of different things that I can look back to when I get back to my desk and I’m able to contact so many people, it’s really helpful,” Hietala said.
Minnesota school districts will resume classes no later than the day after Labor Day.
Bees, wasps are pollinators, not pests
Story by Kyre Johnson / The Hubbard School
In late July and early August, blistering heat isn't the only thing descending on Minnesota. There are also 508 native species of bees and wasps making their final push toward a successful pollination season.
The food chain starts off small in the Bee Lab Garden at the University of Minnesota’s Bee Research Facility. As an affiliate of Bee Campus USA, UMN Twin Cities has pledged to highlight and expand its actions to promote pollinator conservation.
Despite including some of the most feared insects, pollinators work tirelessly and to the benefit of those who fear them, in order to collect and transfer the pollen necessary for maintaining ecosystems.
Important pollinators, which include bees, wasps and butterflies, are critical to our ecosystems as a whole, not only to plants and other animals but also to us as humans. “One out of every three bites of food that we take, a pollinator was responsible for," says Elise Bernstein, an outreach specialist and researcher at the Bee Lab.
Bernstein also recognizes that stinging insects can be scary but says to remember that wasps, unlike other pollinators, are omnivores. This means as their food supply begins to run out in August, they become more agitated.
"So wasps get hangry, and that's why sometimes people are like I'm seeing so many wasps and they're all over the place."
Although pollinators often get a bad rap at this time of the year when worker bees are at their strongest, most of them are actually quite gentle insects and they do wonders for our environment.
"I think one thing that I wish people understood about bees and pollinators and stinging insects in general is that there is not a reason to be afraid of them,” said Bernstein.
While it may be an inconvenience to get stung, it would be even worse to live without all of the help the pollinators give us. If you want to help preserve the pollinator population, plant more flowers and use less pesticide.
“We come for the open play every now and again so I can get some work done and he can have some fun playing on the field.” — HEIDI THOMPSON
Soccer and coffee score with kids and adults
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Story by Kyre Johnson / The Hubbard School
Community, coffee and soccer—the trifecta that brings together people of all ages and many interests at Ninth Street in Minneapolis.
What started out as just a simple family-owned coffee shop has grown into a hybrid hub, equipped with an attached soccer field, for diverse interests and activities. This cafe-fieldhouse fusion attracts coffee fans and players from all around the Twin Cities area.
Abby Gunderson, who has been working at Ninth Street as a barista for just over a year now, says “we’re trying to create a multicultural space of people that love soccer and love coffee and bring them together.”
Gunderson says the purpose is deeper than just making a good cup of coffee. The owners’ “bigger purpose was to unite the nations that live in the Twin Cities area” by building a community around various likable interests, she says.
Ninth Street employees and customers agree, after years of isolation due to COVID-19 and a lack of social time, the biggest demographic in need is the young families in the area.
Customer and mom Heidi Thompson first took her 11-year-old son to Ninth Street for his birthday party last year. Thompson continues to bring her son into kids' open play so that he can spend time with his friends and continue his passion for the sport.
“We come for the open play every now and again so I can get some work done and he can have some fun playing on the field,” said Thompson.
Open kids play sessions at Ninth Street were born out of the desire to offer convenient services during the day for stay-at-home parents and a chance for their often cooped-up kids to play and connect. Gunderson said Ninth Street exists to provide a space where everyone feels welcome and can come to both create and experience community.
“Our kids' open play is specifically unique because it's a free event, so it makes it completely accessible to all families, any babysitters or nannies that are watching young kids, and we just open our space for two hours and let kids run around and have fun,” said Gunderson.
On top of the free kids sessions every Tuesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon, Ninth Street offers pickup soccer daily, watch parties for professional soccer games, a free-weight gym, private training sessions, and bookable events in both the cafe and fieldhouse.