Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Sarah Strommen honored two youths for their outstanding conservation efforts Friday, Aug. 30, at the Minnesota State Fair.
Cody Shaw from Owatonna in Steele County received the 4-H award and Grace Grant from Stillwater in Washington County received the Future Farmers of America Award during a ceremony held at the DNR Volunteer Outdoor Stage.
The DNR Commissioner’s Youth Awards are given annually to an FFA student and 4-H member who have demonstrated initiative, leadership, creativity and achievement in conservation and wise use of natural and agricultural resources. This is the 33rd year of the award program.
4-H member and DNR Youth Award winner Cody Shaw is in his 10th year of 4-H and the current president of his club. Initially tasked with developing ideas for a food drive, Cody learned of the Peregrine Falcon Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and wondered if he could combine the two. This led Cody to develop a 4-H project around coordinating a peregrine falcon presentation and ultimately building nesting boxes for American kestrels.
Cody led the coordination for a peregrine falcon presentation from the Midwest Peregrine Society at the Mayo Clinic. Those attending the presentation made contributions to the food drive. Cody then learned about the declining American kestrel population and engaged the Steele County Extension Office for ideas to build and distribute kestrel nesting boxes. Cody worked with a local hardware supplier to get donated supplies, arranged the use of his High School woodshop, and recruited fellow 4-H members to help build the boxes.
Cody is the son of Brian and Tracy Ackman-Shaw.
The DNR congratulates Cody for receiving the 2024 DNR Commissioner’s 4-H Youth Award.
Grace Grant received the DNR Commissioner’s FFA Youth Award. Grace has always loved the outdoors and being in wild places. After joining FFA, Grace was encouraged to pursue her interest in the outdoors by volunteering for Supervised Agricultural Experiences, or SAEs. Projects Grace choose for her experiences included raising rainbow trout, banding peregrine falcons, and working for the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa.
Grace’s trout stocking project started with collecting, sorting, and identifying macroinvertebrates to assess the overall health of Brown’s Creek near her hometown of Stillwater. Grace also examined other stream characteristics, such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and stream flow. With support from Trout Unlimited, Grace was provided the materials needed to raise the rainbow trout in her classroom. Grace was responsible for preparing the trout tanks and monitoring them daily, raising the trout from eggs to fingerlings, and ultimately releasing the trout into Brown’s Creek. Grace also volunteered to assist the Midwest Peregrine Falcon Society with banding peregrine falcon chicks. In the summer of 2023, Grace was a crew member with the Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, constructing boardwalks and controlling invasive species in Minnesota state parks.
Grace will be entering the Environment Sciences Program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth this fall. Grace is the daughter of Arne and Mary Grant.
The DNR congratulates Grace for receiving the 2024 DNR Commissioner’s FFA Youth Award.