Over the past five years, Land O’Lakes has been a presenting sponsor for events like Under the Stars, Tee it Up for Tanadoona, and most recently – our Virtual Fall Fundraiser. They have hosted our Community Partner Celebrations, provided Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Trainings to Camp Fire staff, and our current Board Chair – Loren Heeringa – serves as Land O’Lakes’ Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.

We interviewed three individuals from Land O’Lakes who closely partner with Camp Fire to hear more about their support of Camp Fire and find out how they currently enjoy nature.

 

Loren Heeringa,

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Land O’Lakes, Inc. 

 

Did you have a childhood camp experience or a moment in nature as a child that stands out to you?

“I grew up on a farm, so I was always outside. I loved nature, entomology, agronomy, and taking care of animals. Growing up, I did go to summer camp and had other leadership experiences. I was a camp leader at a 4H camp, including serving as the archery instructor. As a camp leader I saw the impact that camp had on kids – the joy of being outside, the connections that kids made with others, and the freeing of their spirits out in the outdoors – so that experience has stuck with me and it’s continued to be a passion.”

 

How are you currently enjoying the outdoors?

“I enjoy being out in the yard, doing landscaping and working in our large vegetable garden – it’s a way I can take a break while I’m working from home and go outside.

I used to show my insect collection at the state fair. I typically collect live insects with nets – in the case of butterflies, dragonflies – while others I might just find. Sometimes you can just sweep your net through the brush or grove and then – after a minute or so – you can look at what insects were crawling in your net. I’ll confess that I know a ton about insects. I can identify almost any insect.”

 

What about Camp Fire’s mission do you, personally or as a Land O’Lakes representative, connect with?

“I love Camp Fire’s mission. I’m particularly passionate about Camp Fire’s commitment to making outdoor experiences available to all youth through scholarship support. Outdoor experiences are really important in these times when we’ve got racial and economic inequities that are affecting our world.

I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of Camp Fire youth – I’ve seen their development and heard their stories when they come an speak to the board, and it’s inspiring to see them becoming leaders as they grow older – to see how much they care about others and their communities.”

 

Morgan Kinross-Wright,

VP, Community Relations & Executive Director, Land O’Lakes Foundation

 

Did you have a childhood camp experience or a moment in nature as a child that stands out to you?

“My mom would take my sister and I along with friends hiking and camping often; the mountains in Montana lend themselves well to being in nature all the time. I can remember one time, before any guardrails/walkways were built at Natural Bridge, my mom, sister and I scooching on our bellies to the edge of the rim of natural bridge and looking down at the falls, and up at the sky and feeling pretty insignificant.”

 

What about Camp Fire, as you see it today, has you most inspired?

“Camp Fire has really doubled down on making camp and nature education accessible to all students, especially students who might never have this opportunity without scholarship. They’re giving young kids the space to enjoy nature, and learn about nature, in a real setting – and providing this as an opportunity for all kids, regardless of means.”

 

How are you currently enjoying the outdoors?

“We escape to the mountains whenever we can for hiking, skiing, and exploring.”

 

Philomena Satre,

Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Strategic External Relationships, Land O’Lakes, Inc. 

 

Did you have a childhood camp experience or a moment in nature as a child that stands out to you?

“Growing up, during the summers, my family would go camping – but this was old school camping. We had a boat and whenever we would visit a big lake, our family and our dog would pile into the boat, row to an island, put up a tent and camp.

I’m sure there were things that I didn’t like about those camping trips, but I just remember them being so much fun. Because we would not go to a traditional camp grounds, we would actually be by ourselves as a family. We used the land. We got the firewood from the forest. We’d have big campfire meals as a family and we created our own fun. This was before technology and so we would play games, we would go swimming, hike through the woods, look for wild animals.

But I missed the traditional summer camp experience and so, as a mom, I wanted to make sure my kids had the chance to go to camp – which they loved.”

 

What about Camp Fire’s mission do you, personally or as a Land O’Lakes representative, connect with?

“I think about the statistics around technology and youth. As a mom it is alarming to me. 50 hours/week is the average amount of time kids are spending looking at a screen. I think a lot about what kids are missing out on – particularly in the summer. I love Camp Fire’s mission of “sparking a love for the outdoors’.

I can’t underscore enough how important it is for youth to have access to nature. My daughter was a counselor at Tanadoona and told me that for the first couple of days, campers are uncomfortable because they’re so used to having their phone right at their fingertips. But by day two, they’re like ‘freedom! – I can be myself, I can have fun, I can do all these things that maybe I haven’t done before.’”

 

How are you currently enjoying the outdoors?

“Our youngest is home right now – he’s 22 – so we’re doing walks and trying to hike in all these regional parks, and not to repeat any. Behind our house, there’s also a wildlife area. I’m a runner so I’ll go out for runs in the morning, as the sun is rising.”