Education Roundup: Summer programs, volunteering, art nights and more

Camp: If your student loves outdoor adventure, there is a new summer series for kids ages 7-12. In the Junior Wilderness Survival series – starting this week – kids can learn outdoor survival skills as they get hands-on practice in shelter building, knot tying, foraging and more. Sign up for one session or all. See the full calendar and details at parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Play/Calendar.

Volunteering: Teens who are interested in making a difference in their community while earning 55 hours of volunteer credit for college should check out HandsOn Tomorrow, the summer service-learning & leadership program. Learn more at handsontomorrow.org.

Teen Art Nights: Art Escape is offering five Teen Art Nights this summer, sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund. The sessions run from 6 to 9 p.m. and are free. Visit artescapesonoma.com to view available dates and register.

Third Cal Poly: Humboldt State University has faced declining enrollment. Gov. Gavin Newsom is backing a plan to make the school a magnet for science and engineering students. The $268 billion budget plan he submitted to lawmakers last month includes $433 million to transform Humboldt State into the state’s third polytechnic university.

Summer fun: A summer/fall 2021 drive-in movie series will play on various Friday nights at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds & Event Center. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Planned films include “Shrek,” “Grease,” “The Goonies,” Ghostbusters“ and more. Visit cityofpetaluma.org for more information.

Best cities: Santa Rosa is among the best cities to raise a family in the U.S., according to a ranking by personal finance website WalletHub.The Sonoma County city ranked 37th out of 182 cities nationwide. WalletHub experts ranked the cities on 50 metrics including low divorce rates, high percentage of families with kids and the number of family-friendly attractions. wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-families/4435.

Teen opp: Applications are open now for youth ages 18-25 who are passionate about agriculture and sustainability to attend the 5th biennial Youth Ag Summit. The deadline to apply is June 30. The Youth Ag Summit has partnered with the United Nations to bring together 100 delegates from across the globe to connect and empower the next generation of agricultural change-makers. Selected U.S. delegates will join other youth leaders for networking, debates, skills, training, and project development from Nov. 16-17. Learn more at YouthAgSummit.com.

Cool opportunity for teens: This summer's Ed100 Online Academy for Student Leaders will be held June 21-23. The massive, free online conference is open to all of California’s 2,000+ high schools. Each school is invited to involve a delegation of student leaders consisting of at least one freshman, at least one sophomore and at least one junior. Students must individually apply for admission. The application deadline for this free high school program has been extended to June 14. ed100.org/blog/2021-academy-program

Board meeting: The Sonoma Valley Unified School Board will meet on Tuesday, June 8. There will be a public hearing to discuss the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan and the district budget is also on the agenda. Visit sonomaschools.org to obtain the meeting's Zoom link.

Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.