Summer Science Campers at Walking Mountains Science Center had the opportunity to learn about the Ute People and their survival skills from a 10th Mountain Division hut during a program designed and prepared by Foley Graduate Fellow, Ryan Walton. Designing a program occurs in the first year of the Fellowship program and is then continuously utilized in programming at Walking Mountains.
Throughout their 27-month Foley Graduate Fellowship experience, educators at Walking Mountains Science Center take on countless professional development opportunities. In order to obtain their masters in natural science education, Program design and planning in environmental education is a required, and very valuable class. It is an opportunity for fellows to dive into curriculum design as they not only learn about the process but also create curricula of their own which they teach at Walking Mountains during the second half of their fellowship.
Curricula that have been developed as a result of this class vary, ranging from kindergarten programs designed to explore basic weather concepts to high school programs that encourage campers to plan for action in sustainability. This year, one of these fellows designed a summer camp hut trip that ran in August with 10 third and fourth-graders.
The "Surviving Past and Present" hut trip was designed to explore what it takes to survive in Colorado by looking through the lens of traditional methods used by the Ute People prior to westward expansion and settlement in areas traditionally occupied by Ute People. Campers learned ways to build shelters, collect water for use, and gather food by first acknowledging and practicing some methods used by the Ute People, and then the modernized methods used frequently today.
Throughout the three-day two-night hut trip, campers most enjoyed building shelters using downed wood and rocks with the natural features of the environment they were exploring. Many of them were also excited young chefs for at least one of the meals we enjoyed during the excursion. While we did not forage for these meals, campers learned about how the Ute Peoples’ technology allowed them to collect water and food in the various environments that they would travel through seasonally. One such method is to weave baskets of pine needles and then cover the basket in sap, allowing it to hold water without leaking.
An aspect of program design fellows learn about in their second semester of the fellowship is the usefulness of building a performance task into their curricula. A performance task is an activity used by educators to gauge the amount of knowledge gained by participants throughout the program. In some ways, this performance task is a way to assess the entirety of the program. It provides a fun activity for campers to engage with at the end of their experience but also shows educators what aspects of the program the campers learn from most and what could be improved upon.
Campers perform their skit at the end of the Hut Trip.
In "Surviving Past and Present," campers created skits to demonstrate their understanding of what is needed for survival in different environments or situations by drawing on both traditional Ute methods and modern methods depending on what was available in their given scenario. Working in three different groups to accomplish this task, campers succeeded and it seems the program was a success.
As we have reached the conclusion of summer, and it’s time to head back to school, our educator team is gearing up school programming and moving into a new semester of graduate studies themselves. For the Tadpoles, our incoming cohort of fellows, the program design and planning in environmental education class is just beginning. It’s an exciting time, and while we are sad for summer to have come to a close, we are beyond excited for school programming to begin.
Campers learning how to do “The Stick Dance”
Enjoying s'mores around the campfire.
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Written by Ryan Walton. Ryan Walton is a Walking Mountains Foley Graduate Fellow who will be graduating in 2024.
