By Thomas Fritz

With school back in action, and students returning to classrooms for the fall semester, SJMA will be joining right alongside them. Education staff look forward to teaching local students about the wonder of the place they call home and helping them spend quality time in it. Throughout fall, students in the San Juan Mountains region will receive place-based experiential education to better understand the world around them. Students who participate in SJMA’s educational programs are proven to develop a strong sense of stewardship – not only toward general ecological systems, but also toward the mountains they call home. SJMA’s mission is to work with the new generation of stewards to inspire and promote a sense of responsibility in caring for the land.

Over the course of the fall semester:

Playing the long game of securing San Juan stewards has paid out (and continues to) when reflecting on the impact SJMA programs have had on students. The investment in educating these students transfers to their families when they recreate on the landscape. As the students learn and grow, they inevitably teach others about why we should care for the land.

At SJMA we get to watch “local kids” who participated in summer camps and school programs get out and earn degrees that assist them in giving back to the San Juans. Teal Lehto, one of these examples, was a student who participated in Durango Nature Studies programs in her youth prior to the merger with San Juan Mountains Association in 2020. Teal credits her early engagement with DNS as part of the inspiration for her degree in Environmental Studies. Now an activist for water rights and founder of Western Water Girl, Teal continues to work closely with SJMA to promote stewardship over the region through her time as a Forest Ambassador and now Social Media Manager. This is one example that not only are SJMA’s educational programs fun and engaging, they also have a lasting effect on those that participate to help better the world around us.

Securing future stewards to continue this effort for years to come does have its challenges. Without partnerships SJMA would have a difficult time delivering the effective lessons we are so lucky to share. San Juan National Forest, local landowners, farmers, and partner organizations are a crucial part of the education local youth receive. SJMA has established a relationship of trust in the surrounding area that students’ education will be at the forefront when it comes to planning field trips, visiting local farms, touring conserved properties and understanding how humans play a role in the ever-changing landscape. This is not to say that effective experiences require families to have the same partnerships to be great stewards of the land. Part of SJMA’s mission is to communicate with locals and visitors alike, the beauty of our public lands. When students have the opportunity to learn from SJMA’s education team, they often find themselves in places they have never seen before even though they’ve lived in the area their whole lives. Exposure to new places, environments and ecological systems help broaden the idea of what “home” truly means to these students and that is the first step in not only understanding but also loving and caring for the special place we get to share in the San Juan Mountains.

Thomas Fritz is SJMA’s Education Specialist helping youth connect to the natural world.