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Tips to help you connect your family to nature!
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As part of her award, Anita received a signed copy of one of Enos A Mills 16 collectible books "The Spell of the Rockies." Anita Evans, Chair of the nonprofit Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN), recently received the prestigious Enos A. Mills Award for Exemplary Contributions to Environmental Education. This award is the highest honor presented by Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education each year to an individual for long-term, outstanding achievements and contributions to environmental and outdoor learning. The award is named after Enos A. Mills, a naturalist and author whose passion for environmental protection and education, photographs and writings were largely responsible for the decision by Congress in 1915 to establish Rocky Mountain National Park. Enos Mills spent his life discovering and experiencing nature, and working tirelessly to preserve it by sharing its benefits with others through guiding, writing and photographs. Like Enos Mills, Anita Evans has demonstrated exemplary vision, character, practice, and has made a long lasting and far-reaching impact on the field of environmental education (EE) on the Western Slope of Colorado. Anita Started her EE impact on Colorado youth in 1982 instructing cross-country skiing and backpacking for the Balarat Outdoor School in Denver, and as a trained Project Wild instructor in the 1990s. After getting her teaching certificate, Anita consistently made an impact with her students through hands-on outdoor skills, EE projects and field experiences. Every class Anita has taught to cross-country ski through the "Skis for Kids” program she and her husband Richard and many volunteers established in 1987 has experienced in-depth winter ecology instruction and learning. "Every child I ever taught experienced nature: learning to cross-country ski, creating schoolyard habitats, learning how native species thrive in their web of life and observing how humans play an integral part in nature. I tried to have my students feel a sense of responsibility to learn about and experience our world, and practice responsible recreation and conservation efforts. Over 27 years I taught thousands of kids about what it means to be a responsible human intertwined with our natural world, and I hope they remember that we are nature," explained Evans. J oining forces with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) in 2013, Anita helped facilitate the written curriculum and publication of the Delta Teaching Environments Naturally teachers guide for all grade levels, connecting youth to the vast resource of public lands here on the Western Slope of Colorado. She also joined up with the U.S. Forest Service in 2014 to expand the Skis For Kids Programming with a "More Kids in the Woods" program, ensuring every 4th and 6th grader in Delta County could experience winter in Colorado on Cross Country Skis and learn about our largest reservoir of water—mountain snow. Since retiring from teaching in 2014, Anita has assisted with teacher education classes put on by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) in a program called OUT, or Outdoor Understanding for Teachers, helping with four teacher workshops a year on a variety of topics such as Bears, Elk, Beaver, Fish, Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, Wildlife Diseases, Winter Animal Adaptations, and many more. In 2015, Anita helped facilitate a coalition of EE providers for three years in order to gain funding from Great Outdoors Colorado in 2018 to officially establish the Nature Connection in Hotchkiss, which is supported by the Delta County School District for Delta County and Olathe. This is where the Skis for Kids program came to reside, and with the addition of staffing and outdoor gear established the Learn to Bike program, paddle boarding/river experiences, rock climbing and weeklong youth summer camps. In 2018, Anita's passions and insights spearheaded the creation of the nonprofit Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN), increasing the impact on youth every year, and supporting EE experiences for over 8,500 youth in 2023 alone. FOYAN is where her heart lives now, working with the seven member board across the four Western Slope counties of Mesa, Delta, Montrose, and Ouray counties. FOYAN’s focus is on four areas of EE: farm to school projects; watershed education; scholarships for teachers and youth for field trip busing, program fees, or special projects; and the Together for Resilient Youth (TRY) program, facilitating 6 outdoor events a year and reaching out to a segment of our local youth most in need of mentored outdoor skill building, peer connections (without screen time), and creating emotional connections to our beautiful Western Colorado wild places. "There is something to be said about working together to help make a better world for those generations that follow us. We are nature. We are an intricate part of the web of life in this world, and how we interact with nature determines the path our world will take in the future. We all have a chance to choose our path in this world, shaping that future through our sphere of influence. That sphere expands, shifts, and changes throughout our lifetime allowing us to touch the lives of others in many positive ways. We have a responsibility to share our knowledge of nature through discovery, teaching, and learning experiences. How has Nature shaped you, your world, the world you share with your loved ones and acquaintances?" asks Evans. As part of her award, Anita received a signed copy of one of Enos Mills 16 collectible books entitled "The Spell of the Rockies." Anita plans to continue her work with FOYAN and FOYAN partners to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of local youth. You can read more about Anita and past Enos A. Mills Award recipients here: https://caee.org/awards
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 Leigh Robertson, Ecologist, takes a group of Montrose Fourth Graders on a guided walk along the Dave Wood Interpretive Trail. The students are exploring and discovering many of nature's surprises on the Uncompahgre Plateau. The name Dave Wood is often mentioned in conversation around town, mostly in the context of directions to access to the Uncompahgre National Forest. Dave Wood Road is one of the closest access point to the forest from Montrose. We are lucky to be able to access these public lands within 40 minutes of town for a quick nature get away to recharge and reset ourselves. However, there is more to the name- Dave Wood. Here is a brief history of the man, the area as well as a guide to a fun interpretive hike to help you observe the nuances of the area's ecology. Who was Dave Wood? Dave Wood was a freighter in southwestern Colorado. He started his business in 1881 in Gunnison, when the Durango & Rio Grande Railroad made him their "forwarding and commission merchant." Wood freighted supplies west to construction gangs and newly-settled towns from the railroad's end-of-the-line. When the D&RG built its narrow gauge line through the Black Canyon and over Cerro Summit into Montrose, Wood took his business to that town. Montrose would be his largest and most permanent base, and for five years he was the exclusive agent for all freight going to Ouray, Telluride, and Rico. The D&RG extension, built from Montrose to Ouray in 1887, forced Wood to again move his base of operations. From his new location at Ridgway, he did a large freighting business into Telluride and Norwood. The completion of the Rio Grande Southern in 1891 ended Wood's operations. Built in 1882, the famous Dave Wood Road between Montrose and Telluride, via Horsefly Mesa, ran on the west side of the Uncompahgre River parallel with the present highway from Montrose to Ouray, and is today identified by a U. S. Forest Service marker. Who were the first inhabitants of the Uncompahgre Plateau? Long before Dave Wood set foot on the plateau, about 10,000 years before the early explorers investigated the area; the Paleo Indians roamed the plateau hunting herds of wildlife without bows and arrows! They travelled in groups of 10-20, found shelter in rock overhangs and caves, and subsisted on the abundant natural resources of the area. The Ute tribes were descendants of these early native peoples. Dave Wood Interpretive Trail The area encompasses about 3200 acres of typical habitats of the Uncompahgre Plateau. To the careful observer, there is evidence of multiple ecosystems, traces of past life that swam in an ancient sea, plants that actually communicate with each other, and traces of history that shaped our lives. A very informative guide is available to help you explore and understand these ecosystems. The trail meanders through a montane forest. The word montane means mountain. These forests occur between 5,500-9,000 feet elevation. Not surprisingly, the major feature of this zone is trees! Ponderosa pines dominate in this forest along with Rocky Mountain juniper. At higher elevations, lodgepole pine and spruce become more common. Other trees and shrubs in the montane forest include aspens, mountain mahogany and serviceberry. The guide will help you decipher the difference between a ponderosa pine and Douglas firs, coniferous and deciduous trees, mountain and western bluebirds and more. This is a landscape forged by wind and fire and as you hike along the trail, you will observe signs of those forces shaping the forest. Pines have evolved to take advantage of periodic fires. The guide described details of plant and animal adaptations that allow species to thrive here. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you walk along the trail. Look and listen for the sounds of nature. Ask yourself questions about the forest such as describing what it looks like, pointing out living and nonliving parts of the forest, or thinking about how the forest helps us. Engage your sense of wonder, dig deep for bits of forgotten knowledge, and test your connections to new nature knowledge you may have read or observed recently. Take a closer look at the layers of this forest: the canopy, the understory and the forest floor. Pick a layer and check it out more closely. Look for living and non–living items in your layer. Draw it in your journal. How is your item connected to the forest? (Example: a leaf is connected to a tree, but also shelters a ladybug, and will soon become a part of the nutrient rich soil.) Be an observant hiker and discover your forest- there are surprises everywhere! You may learn a few new fun facts about the forest as well as refresh some of the nature knowledge you haven’t thought about in a while. You can download the guide from the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest website under highlights (https://www.fs.usda.gov/gmug). The website also provides links to more information about the Paleo Indians of the area, Dave Wood and details about the ecology of the plateau. Directions from Montrose: From Townsend and Main in Montrose head west on Main, Left onto CO Highway 90, 0.4 miles stay right on Oak Grove (Hwy 90), 0.25 miles turn left onto Dave Wood Road/6250 Road. Continue on Dave Wood Road for about 8 miles. The interpretive trail is the first part of the Simms Mesa/Dave Wood Trail. The trailhead is on the east side (parking area) at the forest boundary. The Simms Mesa/Dave Wood Trail is designated for horses and hikers only; across the road, Forest Service Route #536 is open to motorized travel (OHVs and snowmobiles). |
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