Recently, STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside Community Adventure Program (CAP) students headed up to the mountains outside Fairplay to explore the Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center. They started off the trip on a beautiful Colorado morning by stopping at Staunton State Park for a short hike. The students learned about compasses and navigation and led the way to Davis Ponds, a 2-mile roundtrip hike. They had a great time sniffing the ponderosa pines and asked loads of questions about lichen, deer signs, and other things they saw along the way.

Once base camp was ready to go, Kevin Hosman, Director of Operations at Beaver Ponds, gave the group a tour of the property. At 10,200 feet, students were feeling the elevation change as Kevin hiked them around. Students were able to see both current and abandoned beaver dams, an overgrown forest thinning project, and  a stump from a tree that lived from the 1360s all the way to the mid-1900s. Beaver Ponds is working toward generating all of their own power, so students were able to look at the solar panels and windmill that currently create most of the electricity for the buildings.

Beaver Ponds has a small farm, as well, so after the tour it was time to feed the animals. Eric Chatt, the Site Manager at Beaver Ponds gave us a tour of their greenhouse. The students loved hand-feeding the goats, alpacas, and llama barley grass that they had harvested, and wanted to know all about what they do with the animals. The goats are all long-haired goats whose coats can be harvested to make yarn; the kids were very interested in how the animals are shaved and how the hair is processed. As the sun started going down and the temperature quickly dropped, Kevin took the group over to an active beaver pond, where they spotted two beavers swimming around! Inside, he showed the group sage that glows under black light and a “tree cookie” to analyze growth rings.

Before bed, the group did a few rounds of Drum Stalk and lots of stargazing. Most students had never been in a place that was as dark as Beaver Ponds, and since they couldn’t have a fire due to the fire ban, it was very dark. During Drum Stalk, students were hesitant at first to walk around without being able to see where they were going, but warmed up to the idea. Over three rounds, every student had challenged themselves. One student said that “it was scary until I got close to the circle and I could hear people walking. Then I realized that I wasn’t alone and it wasn’t as scary anymore.” Other students expressed similar sentiments, and it helped them challenge themselves further in the next round. After Drum Stalk, several students couldn’t stop looking at the Milky Way and wanted to lay out to watch for shooting stars.

It was a chilly night (down into the low 30s) but everyone woke up in good spirits the next morning. The group went on a morning hike to explore the rest of the property and played Camouflage in the forest. With a stop at Kenosha Pass for lunch and a sit spot among beautiful aspen trees, it was time to say goodbye to the forest and head down from the mountains.

A special thanks goes out to all of our supporters and funders that help make our partnership with STRIVE Preparatory Schools possible this school year, including: Ladd Foundation, Larrk Foundation, and PeyBack Foundation.

Written by: CI Instructors, Jessi Burg and Sarah Rudeen

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