On May 20, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) teamed up with students and teachers at Cactus Valley Elementary School in Silt to improve outdoor spaces on campus. RFOV promotes stewardship of public lands by engaging communities in education, restoration and conservation projects.
The RFOV program known as “Spruce Up Your School” can include creating school gardens, weeding and mulching and establishing native wildflower pollinator gardens — just to name a few.
Thus far, RFOV has carried out such projects at: Basalt Elementary, Children’s Rocky Mountain, Cactus Valley Elementary, Kathryn Senor Elementary, Marble Charter and Glenwood Springs Middle schools.
“Involving [students] in projects can help kids learn a different side of life that doesn’t always involve a textbook,” said Nathan Barth, a physical education teacher at Cactus Valley who worked closely with RFOV. “While that’s super important, so much more learning can take place on the back end of a shovel and the handle of a bucket.”
Ben Sherman, the education director at RFOV, said that the focus on outdoor areas at schools started several years ago.
“We realize that not every student has access to the wilderness or is not able to get to some of the trailheads where [RFOV] might spend time,” stated Sherman. “A lot of these schools have great opportunities to beautify their campuses and create learning opportunities right outside of the building.”
Between late 2019 and early 2020, RFOV had reached out to the school, but projects were put on hold because of COVID-19 regulations. It wasn’t until 2023 when projects with RFOV and the school took flight and grabbed the attention of parents and local companies who helped by donating equipment and time.
“The most important takeaway from all of this is teamwork,” Barth stated.
Students gave some love to the outdoor areas of their school by mulching around trees and walkways to suppress invasive weeds and planting wildflowers. It was the first time working with shovels and rakes for many of the students.
“[The students] definitely took a lot of ownership ….,” added Barth. “I heard a kid, as he was walking home with his brothers, pointing out which plants he got to plant and you could tell that he was super proud of the work that he did.”
Students also had the opportunity to learn the importance of taking care of outdoor spaces which has a positive impact on the environment.
“At each school we’re doing a lot to make more resilient habitats, create … pollinator spaces and make individual trees healthier and stronger,” shared Sherman. “When you zoom out and see all of the projects which have occurred at many different schools, it’s a really significant impact.”
Barth said that students would like to continue to spruce up Cactus Valley, perhaps planting a garden with succulents, cactus and various light colored rocks. Nothing is set in stone, but there is still work to be done.