Sarah Sauter with the Conservation Center, and Sam Staley with the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office, preparing for the arrival of the sixth-graders.
This past September, Conservation Center staff, Sarah Sauter and Alex Johnson, joined staff from the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office to help local youth explore the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area. With fewer and fewer opportunities for youth to unplug and get outside, the BLM has initiated a nationwide campaign called Take It Outside.
Sarah and BLM staff Edd Franz leading an investigation hike
Katie Phillips, Volunteer/Visitor Services Coordinator with the BLM UFO, organized a full week of field trips for local sixth-graders from Delta, Olathe, Montrose, and the North Fork Valley. Each day began when the buses full of excited students arrived at the Cottonwood Grove Campground. The students then spent the day visiting half a dozen different exploration stations. Sarah and Alex helped lead investigation hikes, where students explored three different ecosystems: the desert, the riparian zone, and the aquatic Gunnison River. At other stations, the students learned how to tie flies with Trout Unlimited-Gunnison Gorge Anglers, met their macro-invertebrate neighbors, and learned about ecological principles that the BLM uses to manage lands in National Conservation Areas like the Gunnison Gorge NCA. Over 650 students took part in the Take It Outside event throughout the week. Hopefully, the kids had at least half as much fun as Sarah and Alex did.
For more information on the Take It Outside national program, visit BLM’s website.