Tom Ross: The unseen determines water traits
Routt County's Yampatika eyes federal funding
Yampatika’s summer interns appreciate possibilities in Steamboat
Community Agriculture Alliance: Don’t retreat, ReTree
Karen Vail: Collecting for Wild Edible Feast
Routt County celebrates Migratory Bird Day
Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with event at Carpenter Ranch
Colorado Group Realty announces Routt County grant recipients
Yampatika program enhances education in Steamboat: environmental literacy
program aims to expand learning
Yampatika looking for 3 interns during summer
Steamboat's Yampatika receives grant to pay summer interns
Officials look to Steamboat for leading environmental education
Lowell Whiteman students volunteer at Yampatika's Environmental Learning
Center
Environmental literacy in our community
Teacher workshop in Steamboat to address environmental literacy
Service Learning Institute program engages Routt youths in giving back
Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch receives award
Celebrate migratory birds!
Youth 4-H program expanding to Steamboat
Yampatika given 2009 New Pioneer award for work in sustainability
Hayden 4th- and 5th-graders visit Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center
at Legacy Ranch
Yampatika and Deep Roots host "Gardening from the Ground Up"
Yampatika gets a new home: Environmental Learning Center allows group to
offer on-site programming
Click here to download
a copy of Yampatika's summer 2011 wish list.
Click to download a Winter Program brochure:
Check out our Fall Newsletter:
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Yampatika is the only non-profit organization in northwest Colorado that offers a continuum of environmental education programs to children and adults ranging in age from pre-K to seniors in Routt and Moffat Counties. Our mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through education. We recently expanded our service area by opening the Yampa Valley's first ever Environmental Learning Center at the City of Steamboat Springs' Legacy Ranch.
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Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch
Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch is where we provide cutting edge educational programs for all. It serves as a demonstration site for sustainable technologies including vermicomposting (worm composting), composting, xeriscape and organic gardening, heirloom gardening, precipitation monitoring, energy efficiency site improvements, water conservation and water harvesting. Through model programs we strive to help people of all ages learn how to reduce their carbon footprint.
No Child Left Inside: A Model Curriculum for Environmental Literacy in Routt County
Click here for a report on results from the 2010-2011 pilot!
Yampatika has developed and pilot tested Colorado's first environmental literacy program, "No Child Left Inside: A Model Curriculum for Environmental Literacy in Routt County." The program was developed to support elementary schools' existing curriculum frameworks and reinforce academic achievement as quantified by Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) standards. It was pilot tested at the K-5 level with the Steamboat Springs School District in the 2010-2011 school year. Its "curriculum blocks" consist of three exposures to an environmental topic, which varies based on the grade level. Exposures include an in-class unit, a field unit on public lands, and a service-learning unit at Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch.
There is a natural opportunity and an increasing need to involve youth in active pursuits in the outdoors. The "No Child Left Inside" movement is commonly considered an outgrowth of awareness brought to light by Richard Louv, author of the best-selling book, Last Child in the Woods (available for purchase at Yampatika's Nature Store). Louv describes the dramatic decline in our children's ability to connect with nature because of what he calls Nature Deficit Syndrome.
"Steamboat Springs is a model for environmental education in the state. You have such a reputation for walking the talk. We just know you’re going to be able to teach the rest of us how to make this happen. We need your leadership on this. Steamboat is ahead of the curve."
- Colorado Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien
Environmental education and academic performance are intricately linked. In one study, 92 percent of comparisons indicated that students who were taught using an environmental framework "academically outperform their peers in traditional programs." Additionally, evidence gathered from the same study of 40 schools indicates that students learn more effectively within an environment-based context than within a traditional educational framework. Some observed benefits include: better performance on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.
The Center for Disease Control and prevention identifies key strategies for schools in helping to prevent childhood obesity. These strategies relate to the child's nutritional opportunities and to the opportunities available to children to engage in active, outdoor opportunities. Yampatika's program meets identified needs to get youth outside so they can be healthy, active, and productive.
There is an increasing awareness at the local, state and national levels about the need to integrate environmental education and outdoor experiences into our schools curricula. At the federal level, The "No Child Left inside Act" was introduced to advance environmental education in our nation's schools. In 2010, Colorado's former Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien spearheaded the Colorado Kids Outdoors (CKO) effort. CKO is committed to creating a healthy future for Colorado's youth by increasing the amount of time kids spend outside, in nature. Yampatika recently won a CKO grant to help high school youth develop careers in environmental education through an internship program. In a recent visit to Steamboat Springs, the Lt. Governor said this about Yampatika's environmental literacy program.
"Steamboat has such a reputation for walking the talk. We just know you're going to be able to teach the rest of us how to make this happen. We need your leadership on this."
- Colorado Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien
Also at the state level, the Colorado Kids Outdoors Grant Program Act (HB10-1131) was passed in 2010. The Act provides direction to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to prepare, implement and fund an environmental literacy plan. The Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education spearheaded an effort to create a framework for environmental literacy in Colorado. It was submitted to CDE in February 2011.
Yampatika's program capitalizes on the opportunity, need and awareness for environmental literacy in Routt County and works with interested elementary schools to enhance programming through the effort. In April 2011, preliminary findings were shared at the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education's (http://www.caee.org/) 2011 conference and in October 2011 they will be shared at the North American Association of Environmental Education's (http://www.naaee.net/) annual conference.
Join the No Child Left inside Coalition today!
Interpreting our History thanks to History Colorado's State Historical Fund
The Legacy Ranch may soon be known as the Hutchinson Ranch for the woman who homesteaded it, Elizabeth Hutchinson. Born in Kentucky in about 1839, Elizabeth Doggett (later Hutchinson) made her way west by way of Missouri. She was the official homesteader of what is now known as Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch, acquiring the original 160 acres through the Homestead Act in 1899. Her husband, Frisbie Hutchinson, ranched and owned land near Yampa in south Routt County and does not appear to have been involved with the parcel Elizabeth homesteaded. Although she only owned the property for a short time she must have made improvements and lived on the site before being granted a patent. No known structures relating to her period of ownership exist on the Ranch today.
In 2010, Yampatika was awarded a grant from The State Historical Fund to tell Elizabeth's story, and the story of the Ranch and its buildings, through the lens of history. Through the grant we have been providing the opportunity for the public to learn about the site through open houses and guided snowshoe tours. This fall we will also provide for self-guided discovery through a walking tour brochure and interpretive signage on-site. Our strong partnership with the City of Steamboat Springs (http://steamboatsprings.net/) has been key to the success of this project.
Partnering to Promote Energy Efficiency, thanks to the Governor's Energy Office (GEO)
Yampatika, Yampa Valley Partners (YVP) and The Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC) have recently partnered to make people aware of energy efficiency measures and opportunities provided by GEO. Having won a recent GEO marketing grant, the three groups have come together to offer adult workshops on energy efficiency; sell carbon tags to support The Colorado Carbon Fund; and implement education programs in area schools to help youth engage in programs to promote energy efficiency.
Expanding our At-Risk Youth Program. Thanks to Alpine Banks of Colorado (https://www.alpinebank.com/), Margaret Bass Berglund, Colorado Kids Outdoors (http://coloradokidsoutdoors.org/) The Colorado Group Realty Foundation (http://www.mybrokers.com/), David and Donna Howell, United Way of Routt County (http://unitedwayroutt.com/) and TIC, Inc. (http://ticus.com/)
Many of our members are not exposed to the outdoors as much as they should be, and with Yampatika’s winter break program, things are beginning to change…If it weren’t for Yampatika’s program, most of these kids would be spending break in front of the TV or playing computer games. Instead they have a newfound appreciation of the outdoors, which I am sure will translate into making better decisions for their own health and the health of our environment.
-Jessica Schnittka, Senior Staff, The Boys and Girls Club of Steamboat Springs
Our programs serve EVERYONE and provide opportunities for ALL. We believe that ALL youth have a right to develop an appreciation of the outdoors, which translates into making better decisions for their own health and the health of the environment. In 2011, we will continue our popular partnership programs with The Boys and Girls Club of Steamboat Springs; continue to provide scholarships to at-risk youth wishing to attend Yampatika’s summer camps; AND provide career development opportunities to high-school age youth who wish to intern at Yampatika.
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Staff
Sonja Macys, Executive Director
Sonja's career as an Environmental Educator began in Mexico where she worked for
Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan, developing school programs, working with youth groups
and resource users in the Yucatan Peninsula's Coastal Biosphere Reserves. Her educational
background includes a Masters Degree in Parks and Protected Area Management from
Colorado State University, a certificate in Non-Profit Leadership and Management,
and a B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. She comes to Yampatika most
recently from the Tucson Audubon Society where she was Executive Director for six
years. During her tenure there, the United States House of Representatives recognized
Sonja for her leadership in conservation in Southeastern Arizona. When not working
at Yampatika, Sonja can be found riding horses, skiing or enjoying bluegrass festivals.
Sonja's e-mail address is Sonja@yampatika.org.
Melissa Calhoon, Program Coordinator
Melissa has been active in the recreational and youth development field over the
last twelve years in several different capacities. She has a B.S. in Parks and Recreational
Services, Natural Resource Management specializing in Open Space Planning and Outdoor
Leadership and she is a Masters in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy candidate
with an expected graduation date of January 2012. Melissa comes most recently from
Partners in Routt County where she established a strong School-Based Mentoring program
and managed the agency's recreational programming. Over the last ten years, she
has been exploring the valley and enjoying the mountains. Melissa is excited to
use her program management experience at Yampatika. When Melissa is not working
or studying, she is enjoying the outdoors with her husband and her dog, Bear. Karen
can be reached at Melissa@yampatika.org.
Karen Vail, Naturalist
Karen Vail has been involved in Yampatika from its beginning--way back in the early
1990s. Karen received a B.S. in Horticulture, with a concentration in Botany from
Colorado State University, and earned her Master's Degree in Gardening from the
Royal Horticultural Society in England. She rode the "big yellow bus" for a year
on Audubon Expedition Institute during her first year towards a Masters in Environmental
Education, finishing up at Antioch in New England. She runs her own landscaping
business, and has recently published a book of beautiful wild flower photographs,
entitled "For the Joy of Wildflowers: Colorado Creations." She has also created
a DVD of local wildflowers. Karen can be reached at Karen@yampatika.org.
Sue Hansen
Sue Hansen is a long time local and outdoor enthusiast. She has a B.S. in International Business and Marketing from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a resort management degree from CMC, and is a certified massage therapist. She owns and manages SK Hansen, Inc., a company that provides bookkeeping, property management, massage, notary and pet sitting services. She brings these skills and organization to Yampatika. Growing up as a Girl Scout, Sue believes in the importance of outdoor education. When she is not working, you can find her bicycling, gardening, skiing and enjoying outdoor music festivals. She also enjoys traveling and exploring faraway places. One of her life goals is to trek in every major mountain range in the world.
Kevin McGarity
Kevin has been living in Steamboat for the past year and can already feel the curse of the Yampa Valley. Kevin graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a B.A. of History. Before working with Yampatika, Kevin was a School-Based Mentor for Partners in Routt County where he worked at Soroco Middle School. In addition, Kevin also coaches lacrosse for Steamboat Springs High School and Steamboat Youth Lacrosse. In his free time Kevin loves to Backpack, Climb and Bike. When not enjoying the outdoors Kevin can be found at local Bluegrass shows or pickin' his banjo.
Tom Kelly
Tom Kelly has an undergraduate degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Illinois, an MS in economics and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has skied in Steamboat since 2000 and moved here permanently in 2007. Tom is an Ambassador for the Steamboat Ski Corporation during the winter, and continues to work at mastering his flora and fauna identification skills. In past years he has led tours at Fish Creek Falls, at Vista Verde Guest Ranch, on the Mt Werner ski area, at Duffy Mountain south of Craig, along the Yampa River, and most recently, a geology tour on Cedar Mountain northwest of Craig. He completed, successfully, the US Army’s Ranger, Special Forces Officer Qualifying Course and Jungle School. He made Eagle Scout while in high school.
Board of Directors and Advisors
Board of Directors
Sherry Benson, President
Jamie Letson, Secretary
Ed MacArthur, Treasurer
Charlotte Jensen, Volunteer Coordinator
Ann Noyes, Development Committee Chair
Daniel Foley, Director at Large
Cindy Gantick, Director at Large
Mary Griffin, Director at Large
Jeremy Behling, Director at Large
Advisors
Linda May Morrison
Ward Van Scoyk, Attorney
Gina Robison, Bureau of Land Management
Danielle M, Domson, Colorado Division of Wildlife
Robert Skorkowsky, UDSA Forest Service
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Yampatika is currenty not hiring. Stay tuned!
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