With a new $10,000 grant, tri-town libraries are sending kids packing…backpacking.

My Own Backyard (MOBY for short) is a year-long initiative to get families outside.

The hope, said Plumb Library Director Gail Roberts is “that the kids will get an appreciation for what is in their backyard. We want to get the kids outside exploring, getting on trails…so you’re not afraid of getting down and dirty.”

Fifty backpacks chock full of the materials needed for exploration will be available to check out from the libraries in coming weeks. As this is a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) project, the backpacks will have everything from compasses, maps and binoculars to art supplies, journals and trail maps.

Some backpacks will have special themes for the habitats in each town.

In addition to the backpacks, a number of events are scheduled to get kids outside.

Taber Library Director Libby O’Neill said, “Because this is a yearlong grant, we’re really going to explore in every season – how seasons change and what happens in each season.”

“Only a little bit of it is going to take place in the library,” said Susan Pizzolato, director of the Mattapoisett Free Public Library.

Science educator and author Michelle Cusolito of Rochester will also play a prominent role in helping kids to become more familiar with the woods, bogs, marshes and beaches in their towns.

The first program, “Bees ‘n’ Bogs” began Sunday in Mattapoisett with a session on bees that included a live hive and honey tasting. Beekeepers Marcie Taylor and Wayne Andrews said bees aren’t anything to fear, though it’s good to keep a healthy distance.

“This is their home so you’ve got to be respectful,” she said.

Taylor said she often speaks to kids about bees so they will learn to appreciate them.

“Bees are some of the most incredible insects,” she said. “If we don’t have pollinators, we don’t have fruits or vegetables or flowers.”

She urged the kids and their parents to beware of putting pesticides on their lawns, which can kill bees, and instead letting dandelions grow. She said planting wildflowers also helps give bees a healthy place to collect pollen.

Andrews emphasized the importance of honeybees on local crops, especially as there are not enough native honeybees to pollinate the thousands of acres of cranberries grown in the state.

Without bees, he said, “kiss cranberries goodbye.”

The theme of cranberries will continue at part two of “Bees ‘N’ Bogs” on Oct. 18.

“We’re really hoping that people will meet us in Rochester on the eighteenth to join bog owner Woody Hartley,” said Pizzolato.

The hands-on bog tour will give kids a behind the scenes look at the cranberry harvest.

“Now we’re going to get a first hand look at the science behind it,” Pizzolato said.

The visit is another component of MOBY that encourages kids to connect with people in STEAM careers.

“An important part of the grant is meeting people in the industry – meeting scientists and potential mentors,” said Pizzolato.

And for all the adventures, families will be encouraged to take to social media to post pictures and to learn more about the great outdoors. Find MOBYfun on Facebook, Twitter (#MOBYfun) and Pinterest to join the online conversation.

The program focuses on kids in grades three through eight, but all are welcome to participate, said organizers. For more information, contact Susan Pizzolato (Mattaposiett) at 508-758-4171, Gail Roberts (Rochester) at 508-763-8600, Libby O’Neill (Marion) at 508-748-1252 or Michelle Cusolito at 508-763-3736.