2016-Cairn November 2016: Fence Deconstruction at Caribou Ranch

Start Date-End Date: 11/12/2016-11/12/2016 Land Manager Office: Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department Land Manager Contact: Jason Vroman Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Cairn students will join forces with Boulder County's Left Hand Outdoor Challenge to take down a dilapidated wood fence, and remove barbed wire fencing that is impeding wildlife. Description: Cairn students will join forces with Boulder County's Left Hand Outdoor Challenge to take down a dilapidated wood fence, and remove barbed wire fencing that is impeding wildlife. Latitude/Longitude: 40.002565, -105.544506 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 35 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 9 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 28 Total Volunteer Days: 37 Total Unique Volunteers: 37 Total Volunteer Hours: 298 Staff Hours: 16.15 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: For our third Cairn project of the year, 37 Cairn participants and mentors headed up to Nederland to work with Boulder County Open Spaceand their high school program, Left Hand Outdoor Challenge.It was a beautiful day, and the group of 60+ high school students and mentors knocked this project out of the park! Staff did not expect the group to finish the deconstruction of 1,000 feet of wooden and barbed wire fencing, but they finished with time to spare! This fencing was a hindrance to moose andelk that frequent the park. The group got really creative with carrying the deconstructed wooden logs, and built complex "rafts" to haul logs to the barn for storage. Successes and Challenges: In the 1970s and 80s, Caribou Ranch had a recording studio that hosted artists such as Chicago, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Billy Joel and John Lennon. In the spirit of this history, we had a little karaoke competition at lunch! We did a debrief at the end of the day with shout outs and a one-word check-in, which was a great way to wrap up the day. Lessons Learned: Do an ice breaker at the beginning of the day!! And students will always accomplish more than you think they can. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Provided by Boulder County staff - talked about the history of Caribou Ranch, and its current uses by people and animals. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: