Every Kid Outdoors

Early access to the outdoors can spark a lifelong interest

In late 2019, Cottonwood Gulch received a grant from the U.S. Forest Service through the Every Kid Outdoors Act. Then, COVID-19 happened, and the whole landscape of environmental education changed in the blink of an eye. The Forest Service generously extended the terms of the grant, and we are now utilizing it in an exciting new school program. Marissa Bluestein and Tanner Johnson, two of our full-time educators, have been working with the Forest Service to make connections with third- and fourth-grade classrooms in Cibola and McKinley counties in Northwest New Mexico. Currently, one classroom from Milan Elementary and three from Mt. Taylor Elementary are signed up for programming that will happen in spring of 2023. Students will take day trips to local Forest Service locations, with an emphasis on getting them excited about public lands that exist near their homes. As an added bonus, each participant will walk away with a free Interagency pass to access National Parks, and other federal lands, free of charge. Reducing barriers to access to outdoor spaces and public lands is one of the best things we can do to create future stewards of this place we call home, and the Every Kid Outdoors program is already making huge strides toward fostering a sense of belonging in the outdoors.

Looking to the future, Marissa and Tanner have been planning a more extended suite of programming including pre- and post-trip classroom visits. We hope to use this spring as a pilot for a more extended programming reach. Aiming to acquire additional funding through the Forest Service, the goal is to offer this opportunity to students in the Albuquerque and Los Lunas areas through visits to the Sandia and Manzano mountains, as well as to students in the Socorro area, visiting the Magdalena mountains. With nearly 50% of New Mexico’s land mass being public land, offering an early invitation for young folks to fall in love with their home is one of the one of the best ways to ensure this vital resource is protected for generations to come.