2015-James Irwin Charter Youth SWAT: Fire Clean-Up at Flying W

Start Date-End Date: 04/24/2015-04/24/2015 Land Manager Office: Flying W Ranch Land Manager Contact: Heather Vozzola Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Students will be helping with fire clean-up at the Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs. The Flying W was hit extremely hard during the Waldo Canyon fires of 2013. They lost all their structures and most of the property was scorched. The students will help with the clean-up efforts by helping to haul slash. They will also help with invasive species elimination. Description: Students will be helping with fire clean-up at the Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs. The Flying W was hit extremely hard during the Waldo Canyon fires of 2013. They lost all their structures and most of the property was scorched. The students will help with the clean-up efforts by helping to haul slash. They will also help with invasive species elimination. Latitude/Longitude: 38.916723, -104.883792 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 15 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 1 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2 Total Volunteer Days: 3 Total Unique Volunteers: 3 Total Volunteer Hours: 15 Staff Hours: 7 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On April 24th, 2 students and 1 teacher from James Irwin Charter School came out to the Flying W Ranch to help with fire restoration and invasive species removal. Flying W Ranch provided all materials and instruction. Successes and Challenges: The turnout was disappointing. The group was supposed to have 15-20 youth originally, and then it dropped to 10-15, and then on project day only 3 people came out. Luckily there was a corporate group out there the same day, so Flying W still got the work done that it needed. There is no shortage of work there, so if we can find more youth groups in the Springs, they are a great partner to work with. Lessons Learned: I assumed that the school was in session, and that this was a required outing for a particular class. I found out later that they had the day off, and this was an optional service outing. I have added a question in the SWAT agreement form that will capture that information. I have also told James Irwin that they can sign up for public projects if they are uncertain of what their numbers will be, but that SWATs require a higher volume of participants. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Provided by Flying W. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: