The Friendship Community Center will launch a new intergenerational program to help bring different groups and people together to explore the natural resources of Leelanau County.

"Touch Leelanau" is a series of interactive programs that will run throughout the summer. Program coordinator Judy Kuntz said she got the idea for the program from an elderly man at one of the senior lunches hosted by the community center in Suttons Bay earlier this year.

“He talked about growing up on a farm and how he spent time with this grandparents and parents,” she said. From that germ of an idea, Kuntz and the Friendship Center volunteers developed Touch Leelanau.

The first initiative is a Junior Ranger Program at Sleeping Bear Dunes June 23. Adults and children will explore the dunes under the direction of a ranger. All park fees are waived for participants in this program.

Kuntz said the center has not secured dates for the other programs that will be part of Touch Leelanau. Topics for the programs include:

• The Circle of Life, the Native American perspective on humans’ relationship and interaction with nature.

• The Waters of Leelanau.

• Exploring Community Supported Agriculture.

• Leelanau Historical Museum.

• Grand Traverse Band Pow Wow.

“All of these programs are designed to be no-charge or low-fee events. Each is designed to be part of the whole series or can stand on their own,” Kuntz said, adding the primary objective is to get families to spend time together while learning about the county’s natural wonders.

Kuntz said that participants will receive books and information at each event. “They don’t just stand there and take in the program, we want them to take the information with them so they can continue learning,” Kuntz said.

To register for the June 23 event or learn more about the program, call Kuntz at (231) 944-8864 or at FCC4@earthlink.net.