A Successful Start to River Season!
Over 3 weeks in May, our River Team ran 9 day-long and multi-day river trips - a very successful start to the season! Partnering with local schools and organizations, these educational trips go above and beyond the typical field trip experience for students (and adults!). Read below for a recap of the impact we made!
The river education season kicked off with a day-long trip down the Lower Gunnison River with Riverside Educational Center. Many of the high-school students had never rafted before and it provided a great lesson in teamwork. The next two trips were with the ACE (Alternative Cooperative Education) program, part of the special education department of Delta County Schools. In preparation for the trip, students planned their own meals and went shopping for the food. They even sewed a quilt to raffle as a fundraiser! CCA staff modified boats for all mobility needs and adapted the trip with every student in mind. It was truly a meaningful experience!
Between school trips during the week, CCA hosted our 3rd annual birding trip. The group saw 51 different species of bird and, despite some strong wind and whitecaps on the river, participants came off the boats with smiles on their faces.
After a great overnight trip with 5th graders from North Fork Elementary, the River Team took Del Norte high school seniors down Ruby-Horsethief to end the school year. After an isolating and strange school year in 2020, the seniors were thankful to have such a great experience to end high school on. The seniors got a last chance to come together as a class and bond.
Along with education, stewardship is another important aspect of CCA’s river trips. CCA assisted Western Colorado Conservation Corps to transport crew members and equipment to a site along the Gunnison River to remove invasive species. In return, CCA river staff got a chainsaw certification through the Corps in order to manage the Catalpa property - a great ongoing partnership.
Combining stewardship and education, CCA’s most recent river trip was one for the books. With funding received from the National Environmental Education Foundation, CCA built and implemented curriculum for a pilot project on biological invasive controls, specifically the Gall Wasp, with help from the BLM and the Palisade Insectary. Students from Central High School’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science Program learned about the impact of invasive species in a riparian corridor and released over 1,000 Gall Wasps as a biocontrol for Russian Knapweed! We look forward to seeing other classrooms implement this unique curriculum.
We’re only getting started! With over 40 more river trips planned this year, our River Team will get hundreds of students out into our National Conservation Areas and on the river. Our next trip is with City of Fruita’s River and Art Summer Camp, a program focused on inspiring creativity in students! What better place than the Colorado River to create art? We also look forward to our upcoming Adventure Trips and stewardship projects later in the season. We’ll see you on the river!
Help us make more unexpected connections!
A huge shout-out to our River Program Director, Dawn Cooper, and our River Guides for making these trips magical! We also thank the Bureau of Land Management, our local school districts, and partner organizations for the successful collaborations. To learn more about our river program, click here.