Inspiring Future Land Stewards Through STEAM

On December 13, 2025, staff from the Northeastern States District Office (NSDO) spent the day at Glen Hills Middle School in Glendale, Wisconsin, participating in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) Fair, featuring interactive exhibits from numerous local organizations and businesses. 

NSDO staff members Kyle Wanner, Outdoor Recreation Planner, and Kelsey Radobicky, Natural Resource Specialist, hosted an educational outreach display highlighting career opportunities within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the wide range of disciplines involved in public land management. Informational handouts introduced students to careers including, but not limited to, outdoor recreation planning, natural resource management, wildlife biology, archaeology, and wild horse and burro management—fields in which NSDO specialists work collaboratively to support one another and achieve shared resource management goals.  

Students engaged in hands-on learning through Junior Ranger activity books focused on wildlife and habitats, geology and fossils, wild horses and burros, and native plants. Junior Ranger wooden badges and stickers helped reinforce lessons while creating a fun, interactive environment. 

As part of the outreach effort, students also received canvas tote bags containing practical and educational items. Each bag included a boot-cleaning brush to help remove mud, seeds, and plant debris from footwear, an important step in preventing the spread of invasive plants and organisms. Additional items included a high-visibility floating keychain, native seed samples for students to plant with their families, and educational materials about pollinators and invasive species prevention. 

Throughout the day, Wanner and Radobicky highlighted the BLM’s multiple-use mandate, explaining that public lands are managed for a variety of uses, including energy development (solid and fluid minerals), livestock grazing, recreation, and timber harvesting, while ensuring that natural, cultural, and historic resources are conserved for present and future generations.  

Staff also shared specific examples from their own work. Wanner discussed his recent fieldwork at Black Duck Lake, located north of Orr, Minnesota, where staff restored four campsites across two islands. Radobicky connected with students by sharing her experiences exploring native habitats to collect plant materials under the national Seeds of Success (SOS) program. She described the process of scouting and collecting native seeds, species redistribution, and creating herbarium vouchers to document species encountered in the field. 

Community outreach events like the STEAM Fair help students better understand the wide range of careers available with the BLM. The enthusiasm and curiosity shown by students serve as a reminder to NSDO staff of why working for the BLM is such a rewarding and fulfilling career.