Thanks to a grant we received around "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," Rocky Mountain PBS has sponsored outdoor education trips for Colorado urban youth with Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK), a Denver-based non-profit.
In June, ELK facilitated an environmental education field trip and overnight camping experience to southwestern Colorado that included a visit to Mesa Verde National Park. Twenty four students learned about the mission and history of the National Park Service, the legacy of the Anasazi people, local wildlife identification, conservation practices and leadership skills.
In August, ELK led another overnight trip to Rocky Mountain National Park with 30 students. The focus was on trail restoration, which included pulling poles, putting fence in place, hammering big spikes and repairing buck and rail fencing along the snowmobile access trail from Grand Lake to Forest Service land.
More about Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK)Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) cultivates a passion for science, leadership, and service in a diverse community of learners. ELK is a Denver-based, 501(c)3 organization established in 1996 by two wildlife biologists who saw a growing need to introduce and educate Colorado's urban youth about science, leadership and careers. Both scientists had the shared experience of being the only ethnically diverse people in many of their college science classes. They decided that they wanted to change that fact. Since the founding of ELK, 55,000 youth and families of color have been introduced to and immersed in science education, and many youth have become first-generation college students and college graduates. ELK continues to provide strong educational support, good role models and opportunities for positive community action for youth, helping them to become engaged, productive and successful members of society.
