On an early July morning in Sterling, Colo., echoes of excitement carried across the surface of a local pond as kids cast out lines and reeled in various sizes of catfish, bluegill and bass — some for the very first time. A short walk down a nearby nature trail, the South Platte River became a classroom as another group of kids raced rubber ducks downstream to learn about water velocity and how it affects habitat and river health.
For many in attendance, it wasn’t just a field day — but an invitation to the outdoors.
Leading the charge was Brian Kailey, Logan County Extension Director and 4-H Youth and Natural Resources Specialist. An advocate for outdoor education, Kailey has spent the past 14 years with Colorado State University (CSU) Extension building immersive programs that give young people and families hands-on outdoor experiences.
With a host of volunteers from CSU Extension, CPW and Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District the day’s fishing clinic and stream ecology lesson were just one chapter in a larger mission: to build skills while planting both seeds and lasting confidence in the community’s youth — and untangling plenty of knotted fishing line.
Kailey’s team specifically chose to recruit middle school students — sixth through eighth graders — for this seven-week summer program, recognizing the long-term impact of being able to spark curiosity during such a formative time.
“This is really when they need to start deciding on which career pathway they want to explore,” Kailey said. “And a lot of the high schools out here have a dual credit system where they can start taking classes at our Northeastern Junior College as high school freshmen.”
One of the program’s biggest goals is giving students a head start. Each week, the focus was on a different aspect of outdoor education and a variety of related career paths.
“We tried highlighting each of those sessions with a different career opportunity,” Kailey said, “whether it was to be a soil scientist, wildlife biologist, food nutritionist, or doing more of the recreational tourist-type planning in Colorado.”
Each family also received up to $2,500 worth of outdoor gear by the end of the program — but not without purpose. Participants had to earn it by attending weekly workshops and learning how to use each item.
“That was the entire basis of this — to train the trainer. We didn’t just want to give the kids an item they didn’t know how to use,” Kailey explained. “So if they didn’t come to the cast iron workshop, they’re not going to earn that cast iron set. We want to make sure that they actually attend and then become the ones who train their families.”
Logan County CSU Extension’s gear library was already well stocked through years of earlier programs but expanded significantly thanks to a grant from CPW’s Outdoor Equity Program.
“We had a pretty good-sized library,” Kailey said. “We’ve just been able to add a lot to it now with the funds from the Outdoor Equity Program. We’ve been able to open up a new segment of forestry that we didn’t have previously, and also wildlife viewing and photography.”
While the Logan County CSU Extension office already had basic camping gear, fishing poles, and cooking equipment, the grant allowed them to expand access to new kinds of experiences. Families can now check out cameras, binoculars, and forestry tools to expand the ways in which they might want to get out and explore.
One of the more fun — yet still functional — additions to the program has been a freeze dryer. For an upcoming camping trip, Kailey encouraged kids to bring in foods they thought were weird and fun to test it out.
“A lot of candy. We’ve got Sour Patch Kids, Warheads, Nerds. We’ve gotten a pickle dropped off…that’s probably the weirdest one so far,” he laughed.
But Kailey goes on to explain that the freeze dryer has also fulfilled a practical need for many families with specific dietary concerns.
“The commercial market doesn’t have these types of freeze-dried meals that meet their personal needs,” Kailey explained. “So they’re going to be able to cook up their own meal, bring it to us, we’ll freeze-dry it for them, and then they’re going to be able to go and do their backpacking and have a sustainable meal.”
Kailey said the most rewarding feedback always comes in the form of a simple thank you.
“Out of the 28 families we have in the program right now, only four of them had camped before,” he said. “And a lot of participants say that this program has really brought them closer together.”
“So many of them have been wanting to do this stuff for a long time, but they didn’t have the knowledge of how to do it,” he continued. “They wanted to make sure it was going to be a good experience for their kids and not to ruin the idea of camping in the great outdoors of Colorado.”
Kailey said at the heart of the program is a deep desire to create lasting change through knowledge-sharing. Each of those families will leave not just with gear and experience, but a personalized guidebook as well — a hefty three-ring binder filled with more food and safety tips, recipes and gear checklists.
“They really appreciate the forethought — that it wasn’t just a one-off program, and that this is actually a growing knowledge bank for them to look back on and continue to improve,” said Kailey.
“We want them to train the next generation how to enjoy the outdoors,” Kailey said. “If they don’t know how to, we better make sure we put a program on that’s not only going to get them started and established as this generation — but make sure they’re going to be able to educate the next one too.”
Jaci Waganer, Logan County CSU Family and Consumer Science Specialist, adds, “We have already started to get feedback from the parents that their children are taking what they have learned and are putting it to practice.”
“Parents have shared that their child has grown a greater interest in helping prepare dinner and wanting to cook on cast iron and try more fish recipes after vacuum sealing their own fish and vegetables to cook at home,” said Waganer. “They have also shared that the children’s excitement to go fishing and camping has increased, and they have gone on their own several times since getting their own fishing poles and gear.”
The hope is that kids who complete the program will carry these skills forward — to their families, their schools, and hopefully into careers tied to Colorado’s outdoors.
“And even if you don’t have the gear,” Kailey said, “just get outside, enjoy recreating in Colorado, and find your passion.”
Outdoor Equity Grant Program
By investing in programs that offer outdoor opportunities for underserved communities, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) Outdoor Equity Grants help create more equal access to the benefits of spending time outside.
The Colorado Outdoor Equity Grant Program creates opportunities for youth and their families from communities who have been historically excluded to experience Colorado’s open spaces, state parks, public lands and other outdoor areas. The program is funded by the Colorado Lottery.
Grants help solve some of the challenges that Colorado youth face while trying to explore the outdoors, whether youth are from an urban, inner-city environment or a rural community. Outdoor Equity Grants are designed to reduce barriers to the outdoors for all Coloradans and make valuable strategic investments that improve the lives and well-being of our local youth and their families. Learn more about the Outdoor Equity Grant Program.
Photos and story by Ryan Jones. Ryan is a visual coordinator for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
