2021-Planting Day @ Poudre Learning Center

Start Date-End Date: 05/01/2021-05/01/2021 Land Manager Office: Poudre Learning Center Land Manager Contact: Larry Rogstad Funding Partner: One Tree Planted Programmatic Partner: Summary: Celebrate the start of Spring with One Tree Planted by planting new perennials at this environmental education center in Greeley. Description: Read Before You Register! Need-to-Know Details: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for: You may only register yourself. Every volunteer must sign our digital COVID-specific forms ahead of time to be able to attend. You must provide your own food. VOC will not be providing meals at this time. You must bring a face mask and work gloves. Please click here for our full packing list of required and recommended items. Cancellation & Waitlists: Due to this year's limited number of projects and volunteer spots, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please email outreach@voc.org as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. If you are waitlisted for multiple projects, please call us at 303-715-1010 ext. 116 and we can help you find an open project, if available. Where You'll Be: Located in Greeley, the Poudre Learning Center (PLC) is situated right along the Poudre River and has been providing environmental education and opportunities to local schools and the greater community for years! Just over a year ago, the PLC received a donation of 133 acres, called "Hall 133". The PLC has some great plans for this land - including an observatory, a restorative agriculture learning lab, and experimental grazing fields - but it needs a little TLC first. What You'll Do: This Saturday project at Greeley's Poudre Learning Center is the perfect way to celebrate May Day, Arbor Day, or a belated Earth Day with the support of our friends at One Tree Plante! Open to volunteers ages 14+, this project will focus on planting shrubs and seeds across two acres of the center's recently donated, 133-acre "Hall 133" land. You'll also get to hear from Center staff about the future plans of this land, which may include everything from field classrooms and research opportunities to a restorative agriculture learning lab and astronomical observatory! Why It Matters: Poudre Learning Center serves over 35,000 students and individuals each year, and by helping prepare their new land, you'll help pave the way to teach even more about environmental education! The project site is visible from 83rd Avenue in Greeley, which means volunteers will be able to watch their plants grow over the summer and through the years as the site transforms. About Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is the state's oldest, largest, and leading outdoor stewardship nonprofit organization. Founded in 1984 to motivate and enable people to become active stewards of Colorado's natural resources, VOC has engaged nearly 125,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $25 million. Through award-winning youth and volunteer programs, leadership training, capacity-building programs, and collaborative efforts with nonprofits and land management agencies, VOC is an invaluable resource in Colorado, especially as our outdoor stewardship needs are approaching near-crisis levels. For more information, visit www.voc.org or call 303-715-1010. Latitude/Longitude: 40.391537, -104.681168 Additional Information: To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for: You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing meals or campsites at this time. You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 20 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 27 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2 Total Volunteer Days: 29 Total Unique Volunteers: 29 Total Volunteer Hours: 276 Staff Hours: 0 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Joe O'Brien contracted and ran this project in Weld County. Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Confirm any additional groups with the project sponsor well in advance. We didn't know about the high school group until less than 2 weeks from the project. That caused us to change how we approached the project to ensure there was enough work. On the project it became clear in the morning that the school group only intended to stay until noon, which the school group leader must have known about because all the kids had rides show up. Either Larry didn't know about this, or didn't pass it along (we made adjustments to the plan with him based on their attendance, so I'm thinking he didn't know either). That caused a bit of a scramble with a very small group after lunch to get all the plants in the ground. The project ended around 2:30 for everyone, primarily due to fatigue and heat (full sun exposure on a hot day). Given all 36 folks stayed until 2:30, we could have finished with mulching all of the plants and seeding the other 0.5 acres in our project site. We didn't get to those things. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: