School Treks: 3-Day EKO
Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions partners with schools to deliver hands-on, inquiry-driven learning in the field. Guided by expert educators, students engage directly with all aspects of their surrounding environment. Each program is designed to promote critical thinking, collaboration, and personal growth outdoors, with the opportunity to integrate specific academic goals.
Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) 3-Day Treks are open to New Mexico 4th grade classrooms and supported by the US Forest Service and the National Parks Foundation.
Focus:
Every Kid Outdoors program focusing on experiential, place-based learning.
Program Overview
The Every Kid Outdoors 3-day program introduces New Mexico fourth grade students to public lands in their local community. In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the goal of Every Kid Outdoors is to increase students’ appreciation of public lands by connecting them with their natural and cultural resources. We typically work with all 4th grade classrooms in a school. These treks offer two in-classroom informational and educational sessions and a day of outdoor learning excursions.
Day 1: In-Classroom Lessons
Lessons on the importance of stewardship pertaining to public lands, how animals adapt to environments and how they use their senses to receive and process information, and on the natural and cultural resources of the public lands they will visit.
Day 2: Day Trek
A full day of outdoor activities at our Basecamp location learning about health-related physical activities while exploring and studying public lands with educational guides.
Discussions of the natural and cultural resources of their public lands they visited, the different groups of people that have settled in the Southwest throughout history and describe their contributions to New Mexico cultures.
Praise from Administrators
Excellent itinerary that combined outdoor education, environmental science, history, and cultural awareness. This was a great introduction to the Four Corners.
Montclair Cooperative School
LOGISTICS
Age:
4th graders only
Date:
Only during the school year
Pricing:
Free to NM schools
Transportation:
Not Included
Chaperones:
Min. 2 chaperones per group
EXPERIENCE
Our program is designed to take your entire class of 4th graders, or individual classrooms in groups of 35 on an outdoor learning experience they’ll never forget.
We use the physical activity on light hiking on dirt trails to engage body and mind.
During excursions students experience creative activities such as: team building, games, animal habitats, natural and cultural resources
INFORMATION
HQ Office:
9223 4th St NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
CGE Basecamp Location:
659 Highway 612
Thoreau, NM 87323
Office Hours / Phone:
M-F between 9-5 MT
(505) 248-0563
School Programs Lead:
Theresa Lewis
theresa.lewis@cottonwoodgulch.org