Cloquet Forestry Center Youth Outreach Programs

Cloquet Forestry Center Youth Outreach Programs include field-based learning where students travel along trails to 11 different stations. Activities include wagon tours, boat races, wildlife tracking, tree identification, and learning what to do if lost in the woods. Students also take part in projects to make forest faces, sun art, and field guides, and learn about macroinvertebrates and the process of turning logs into lumber, with field trips that can focus on wildlife, forestry, rock cycles, or invasive species.

• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Wednesday and Thursday, July 8–9, 2026; field trips vary in length from part- to full-day events.

The mission of the Cloquet Forestry Center is to connect through field-based research, education, and outreach. Summer sessions are offered for ages 3–12 as campers and ages 13–18 as assistants, and field trips for K–12 students can be arranged upon request with topics specialized to individual groups. Conservation Education Days began in 1968 and engages Carlton County’s 5th graders in field-based learning about their environment, and the Cloquet Forestry Center has been the primary research and education forest for the University of Minnesota since 1909. The continued success of Conservation Education Days relies on a partnership between the UMN Cloquet Forestry Center, Carlton County, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, and Sappi. The leadership team includes Forest Manager and Research Coordinator Kyle Gill and Associate Extension Professor, Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative, Eli Sagor. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

Last updated February 22, 2026.