2013-Staunton State Park Young Stewards Program

Start Date-End Date: 06/28/2013-06/28/2013 Land Manager Office: CPW - Staunton State Park Land Manager Contact: Jennifer Anderson Funding Partner: REI - Recreational Equipment Inc. - Denver, CO Programmatic Partner: Summary: NOTE: Registration for this opportunity is full. If you register, you will be placed on the wait list. Bring your 6-10 year olds to Staunton State Park for a half-day Young Stewards Program that will include an environmental education component, a stewardship project, and a short hike. Description: STEWARDSHIP SITE Staunton State Park is Colorado's newest state park. The park is located 40 miles southwest of Denver, near Conifer, andboasts a number of impressivegranite cliffs and wide, meadowy valleys. YOUNG STEWARDS PROGRAM Don't miss this family opportunity to experience Colorado's newest state park! Bring the whole family for a unique half-day of environmental education, outdoor stewardship, and outdoor games and recreation, all designed for young children ages 6-10.As a family, learn about invasive weeds and why they are extremely destructive to the habitat and the wildlife that live in the park. Learn which plants are invasive weeds and get your hands dirty helping pull them.This will be a fun, youth-focused day outside for the whole family to learn and give back together. This program is designed for young children, ages 6-10. Children MUST be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the morning. PARTNERS Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPAW) REI OTHER FUN STUFF Lunch provided by Anthony's Pizza and Pasta Snacks provided by Clif Bar Latitude/Longitude: 39.46670150756836, -105.37409973144531 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 30 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 10 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 25 Total Volunteer Days: 35 Total Unique Volunteers: 35 Total Volunteer Hours: 175 Staff Hours: 14 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Education was the theme of this experience. Skins and skulls provided wildlife education, invasive weed games provided habitat education, the hike provided outdoor recreation education...and the combination of the three were discussed as an overarching stewardship education theme on how things are connected. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Lots of last minute cancellations, but rebounded with word-of-mouth participants that weren't registered. Worked out well. Parents were extremely happy with the programming and hope to have more of these programs in the future at different locations - definitely annually, but perhaps try doing 2 young stewards program a year in the future? Park staff were also thrilled with the outcome and the low maintenance aspect of hosting us. Impressed with organizational skills, communication, etc. and would like to do this again next year. Friday seemed to work well for everyone...I would stick to a Friday rather than a weekend for giving park staff more of a relief from the weekend rushes and seems like this age group is more readily available to come on a weekday, same goes for youth groups. Description of Accidents/Incidents: Couple trips and skinned knees. Parents initiated first-aid. Nothing significant. Ben did notice a fall by one of the participants as were were driving away from the park (this occurred outside programming time) - participants were also away from the project site with their parents. He witnessed this as we stopped to pick-up a VOC sign close to the main-entrance of the park. Description of Work Completed: Participants were split up into groups and rotated amongst 3 activities every hour. The activities included an invasive species stewardship project, a nature hike and games, and a skins/skulls wildlife lesson. Volunteers from Staunton State Park and one of their seasonal rangers facilitated two of the three activities, while VOC Cairn and PIFP interns organized the nature hike. Children ages 6-10 were able to remove, flag, or cut seed heads from noxious weeds from about one acre of the park during the morning. They also: gained knowledge on the connection between wildlife and noxious weeds and how they are detrimental to habitats. gained an appreciation for hiking and natural surroundings. gained knowledge on how to be safe in a wildlife setting, if approached by an animal. are now aware of Colorado's newest State Park and all the activities it can provide...and that the wilderness is only a short drive away from home. were instilled and revisited something they may not do much of in a urban setting: outdoor free play. learned what park rangers do and the types of things they encounter at the park (silly and serious!).