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Field Trips

Note: We are not currently offering school programs. Please check back Fall of 2022 as we eagerly await their comeback!

Bring to life the concepts that you teach in the classroom with a field trip to the wild! Our Base Camp--complete with an outdoor amphitheater, outdoor learning spaces, Ponderosa stands, shrublands, and grasslands, all with the backdrop of the Rockies--provides for a dynamic setting for learning about and exploring the natural world, all while staying close to home.  

All field trips are available September to May for Pre-K through 12th grade. All of our field trips are linked to the updated Colorado Academic Standards and are designed to aid teachers in helping their students achieve understanding of the standards.

Note: We are not currently offering school programs. Please continue to check back and follow us on socials to stay up to date as we await their return! (Our Future Conservationists Initiative (FCI) is still up and running!)

Backcountry Field Trip Topics

Preschool

Discover Your Senses!

Take time to stop and smell the roses, feel the grass, taste the dandelions, hear the birds, and see the beauties of the Backcountry Wilderness Area!  Children will be able to use all of their senses on a  discovery hike, collect different items that connect to their senses, and work together as a group to sort the items that they have collected based on shape, color, size, texture and more!  After the discovery walk, the group will continue to explore the properties of these objects more as they experiment with Oobleck. 

CAS Addressed: P.1.1 + P.1.2 

Length of Program: 2 hours


Habitat Discovery

Students will enjoy observing, exploring, and interacting with a variety of living and non-living things as they learn about animal habitats and what all living things need to survive!  They will spend time studying our chickens and goats, caring for our learning garden, and going on a discovery walk to see wildlife habitat and identify the living and non-living elements of the Backcountry Wilderness Area.

CAS Addressed: P.2.1 + P.2.2 

Length of Program: 2 hours

Field Trip Details

Location: Backcountry Base Camp

Time: All field trips are either 2 or 3 hours in length. The duration of the program is noted in the field trip descriptions. 

Pricing: 
$8/student for 2 hour programs (minimum fee of $150)
$10/student for 3 hour programs (minimum fee of $180)

Capacity: For effective teaching, we limit field trips to 60 students. Preschool field trips are limited to 36 students. 

Behavior: Managing students during the program is the responsibility of the participating teacher(s) and school-approved chaperones. 

Waivers: All program participants are required to complete and submit a waiver before participating in any Backcountry Wilderness Area education program. Waivers are provided to the coordinating teacher at the time of booking and will be collected upon arrival. 

How to Dress: Please have both students and chaperones dress for the weather. Programs will be outdoors even in the rain. We recommend wearing boots or old sneakers as the trails, fields, and forest may be muddy depending on the season. 

Lunches: For programs that will include a lunch break, each student must bring a bagged lunch. Groups are welcome to bring large coolers to keep lunches cool. We appreciate an effort to encourage low-waste lunch containers. We use lunch as an educational opportunity to teach students about waste and to sort their lunch waste into landfill items and recyclable items. 

Restrooms: Clean port-a-potties with hand sanitizer are located at our Base Camp. 

Late Arrivals: Please inform us if you are running late to your program. Should your group arrive late, the program will still end at the scheduled time. 

Cancellation Policy: Because of the popularity of our programs, full payment is required to confirm your reservation. If programs are canceled by the school with at least two week’s notice, or by the Backcountry Wilderness Area for weather or other unforeseen circumstances, every attempt will be made to reschedule. If an alternate date cannot be scheduled, we will issue a program voucher for use within the next year. Cancellation by the school with less than two week’s notice may result in forfeiture of the full payment if no reschedule date is available. 

The Backcountry Wilderness Area reserves the right to cancel a program up to two hours prior to the start of the program. However, most programs will run in all types of weather. Weather related cancellations will follow our protocol. During your program, you may be interacting with animals and environmental conditions that are not under our control. As such, we cannot guarantee the appearance of specific animals in the wild. We will, however, do everything possible to maximize our success.

More Field Trip Information

Questions?
Contact Becca Venable at [email protected] or 303-471-7054.