Youth Exploring Stewardship Conference

The Front Range Youth Exploring Stewardship (YES) Coalition is a group of 16 organizations who are located in or working along Colorado’s Front Range and who engage youth in environmental stewardship. This October, we had our second annual YES Conference, which took place over two days at  Cal-Wood, in Jamestown, CO. Students from all over the Front Range came and participated, representing Denver, Boulder,  Nederland, and more. The conference gives youth an opportunity to connect with other  teenagers who are also interested in  environmentalism and stewardship.

During  the  weekend-long conference, students had the opportunity  to participate in hands-on stewardship and fun outdoor activities, learn outdoor skills CPR, plant identification, and fishing, and explore future academic and career opportunities in stewardship, environmental education, and conservation. Through these activities, they took their leadership skills to the next level, helped set the direction of youth leadership and stewardship for the Front Range, all  while making new friends and having fun outside!

We started the  weekend off with Outdoor Skills workshops. Students chose from three rotation options, consisting of a Survival Ecology workshop exploring how people can survive in the wild by mimicking animal adaptations, a hike interpreting the natural landscape, or a First Aid and CPR Certification class. After these workshops, we ate lunch and then went back outside for our stewardship  project! We were tasked with moving logs to help with fire mitigation.  The logs we moved will be sold in cords, and the profits go to scholarships for students to attend programming at Cal-Wood.

After moving heavy logs all afternoon, we headed back inside for dinner. After dinner, we walked to an overlook for the sunset, and some self-reflection activities. We then set up a campfire, roasted marshmallows, and told scary stories.

Sunday morning started with professional exploration workshops. Students chose two workshops to participate in from Natural Resources Careers, Environmental Education and Outdoor Recreation,  Youth Corps, and Environmental Science studies. During the afternoon , we had youth-led discussions around the topics of diversity, equity and inclusion, youth mental health, and youth in stewardship. Again, each student got to choose which discussion they wanted to join.

The weekend was a great experience for staff and participants alike. Many students said they wished the conference could go on longer, and I know many of us can't wait for next year! And this wonderful weekend would not have been possible without the many partners who made it happen, including Cal-Wood,  Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Colorado Young Leaders, Teens, Inc, Mile High Youth  Corps, and more!