Since 1992,Yampatika has been the primary non-profit organization to offer outdoor educational services to children and adults in Routt, Moffat and Jackson Counties. The organization is all about connecting people to nature.
“I think one of the most important [reasons] Yampatika was founded, and has become over the years, is all about experiencing nature hands on,” explains Karen Vail, founder and Senior Naturalist. From hiking to building birdhouses to eating flowers, Yampatika connects people to the outdoors in a multitude of ways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=085B-Bgwy6Q
“If you want stuff to stick with, especially kids, you have to offer them a number of different ways to learn something.” Joe Haines, Yampatika’s Executive Director, explains. “There’s the classroom piece, but then there’s also the outdoor piece. There’s a hands-on piece. We’re teaching in a fun way. They’re learning how to be stewards of their environment in multiple ways and it has lifetime impact.”
According to volunteer and board President Shari Fryer, “Yampatika is all about connecting people to nature, and we do that through taking the classroom outdoors and providing environmental education opportunities.”
Some students have been so inspired by their time at Yampatika, they have pursued outdoor education and science as a future career.
“I had a young gentleman come up to me [years after he was a student], and he said I was so inspired by that activity that I became a wildlife biologist!’” Karen Vail beams, “that was pretty exciting.”
For More information about Yampatika, click here. To volunteer, click here.