Four Corners School Of Outdoor Education Inc

THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION IS TO CREATE LIFELONG LEARNING EXPERIENCES ABOUT THE COLORADO PLATEAU THROUGH ADVENTURE, EDUCATION, AND STEWARDSHIP.

EDUCATION & ADVENTURE RECEIVED THE 2020 EARTH AND SKY TOOLKIT FROM THE NISE NETWORK AS WELL AS A LARGE BANNER OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY IMAGE FROM HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. THE BANNER IS NOW IN PLACE IN OUR EXHIBIT HALL. PART A OF THE EARTH AND SKY TOOLKIT HAS BEEN A PART OF PROGRAMMING AND PART B IS SET TO ARRIVE IN TIME TO BE A PART OF OUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR. - APPLIED FOR GRANT RESOURCES THROUGH UTAH OFFICE OF OUTDOOR RECREATION. (RECEIVED, 3,000) - COLLABORATED WITH CCYC STAFF TO APPLY FOR A GRANT THROUGH THE SORENSON LEGACY FOUNDATION TO CREATE AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CCYC PARTICIPANTS. WE ARE NOW FINISHING THIS CURRICULUM PREPARING FOR PRINTING IN JANUARY. - MET WITH BLM OFFICIALS TO POSSIBLY USE LEFTOVER FUNDS FROM PREVIOUS ARRANGEMENTS. THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HEAVILY CONTACTED AND MET WITH EDUCATORS OF VARIOUS GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE REGION IN THE BEGINNING OF 2020. A TOTAL OF 21 DIFFERENT VISITS WERE MADE WITH TEACHERS, GROUPS AND MUSEUMS AROUND THE REGION. THROUGH THIS WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR NETWORK AND RESOURCES AND PLANNED SEVERAL ACTIVITIES. (UNFORTUNATELY, MUCH OF OUR SPRING SCHEDULE HAS BEEN CANCELED.) - WE HAVE CONTINUED TO TRY AND CONTACT OTHERS DURING THIS TIME. CONTACT HAS BEEN LIMITED WITH SCHOOLS DURING THE SUMMER AND FALL. DESPITE THIS WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO TEACHERS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WITH RESOURCES AND IDEAS TO KEEP US RELEVANT IN THESE TIMES. WORKED WITH THE UTAH CONSERVATION CORE TO GET AN INDIVIDUAL PLACEMENT AMERICORPS EDUCATOR POSITION. - HIRED KENDRA BUNNELL IN MAY THIS YEAR AS AN AMERICORPS EDUCATION MEMBER. WHILE KENDRA FINISHED HER TERM SHE SUCCESSFULLY BUILT PROGRAMMING FOR NEXT YEAR AS WELL AS MADE BROCHURES, VIDEOS AND SIGNS FOR THE EXHIBIT HALL. SHE ALSO PLAYED A CRUCIAL PART IN RESTORING TRAILS, PATHS AND OTHER RESTORATION WORK AROUND THE CENTER. SHE DEMONSTRATED THAT A MEMBER POSITION LIKE THIS CAN BE BENEFICIAL. EXTENDED A MEDIA PRESENCE DURING THE SHUTDOWN: DURING THE COVID-19 RELATED CLOSURE THE TEAM HAS CREATED OVER 70 EDUCATION RELATED POSTS TO HELP ENGAGE AND PROVIDE RESOURCES TO THE PUBLIC WHICH HAVE RECEIVED WELL OVER 29,000 VIEWS AND HUNDREDS OF ENGAGEMENTS. (NUMBERS FROM 07/31/2020) - CONTINUING IN THIS VEIN POSTS WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN WEEKLY TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN EDUCATION, ASTRONOMY AND OTHER RELATED TOPICS. - PURCHASED EQUIPMENT TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE HIGHER QUALITY VIDEO AND OTHER MEDIA. - DECEMBER UPDATE: OUR VIDEOS AND OTHER POSTINGS HAVE CONTINUED GARNERING VIEWS, NOW WELL OVER 48,000. CREATING A MORE IMMERSIVE EXHIBIT HALL: WE WORKED WITH THE FRONT DESK AND FACILITIES TO REORGANIZE AND RETHINK OUR EXHIBIT HALL. WE HAVE REMOVED A NON-WORKING EXHIBIT, ENHANCED ANOTHER, CREATED NEW IMMERSIVE SIGNAGE AND ACTIVITIES FOR OTHERS, ADDED OUR HUBBLE BANNER AND HAVE MORE CHANGES PLANNED. - WE HAVE ADDITIONALLY BEGUN INTERACTING WITH VISITORS TO THE EXHIBIT HALL TO EXPAND OUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION. UTILIZING CURRENT RESOURCES TO BETTER OUR SERVICES: - WE HAVE EXTENSIVE ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY RESOURCES. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING THE USE AND BETTERING OUR ASTRONOMY PROGRAMMING, WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR BETTER VIEWING AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL USE. - THIS INCLUDES THE POSSIBILITIES FOR LOCALS PRODUCING THEIR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY USING OUR RESOURCES AS WELL AS CREATING OUR OWN. 1ST ANNUAL BLUFF STAR PARTY: PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST ANNUAL BLUFF DARK SKIES FESTIVAL, LENDING TO ITS SUCCESS AND REACHING A TOTAL OF 148 INDIVIDUALS. MANY OF THESE HAVE FEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT. RESTARTED DARK SKY PROGRAMMING: SAFELY, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HOLD 4 DARK SKY EVENTS SINCE OCTOBER. TWO OF THESE WERE GROUPS AND TWO MORE WERE PRIVATE EVENTS. WITH MUCH OF THE REST OF OUR TYPICAL PROGRAMMING POSTPONED THIS FALL, THESE HAVE BEEN BIG FOR OUR TEAM. WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THEM IN THE SORING. ESTABLISH FIRM LOCAL CONNECTIONS: WE HAVE HAD WEAK INVOLVEMENT FROM MANY LOCAL SCHOOLS. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO OFFER THEM QUALITY PROGRAMMING, GRANTS AND OTHERS POSSIBLY INCLUDED. GOAL = 1 PROGRAM RUN WITH EACH SCHOOL IN LOCAL DISTRICTS. - DEC UPDATE: IN THE FALL, MOST SCHOOLS CANCELED FIELD TRIPS THAT INVOLVED OUTSIDE GROUPS. EVEN SO WE HAD ONE TRIP FROM A LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL WHO CAME FOR A DARK SKY PARTY. (THIS TEACHER WOULD ALSO LIKE TO COME IN SPRING DEPENDING ON CURRENT CORONAVIRUS CONDITIONS) ESTABLISH A FIRM PLAN FOR GRANT GOALS AND NEEDS: WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY TO HAVE MANY GRANTS THAT HAVE ALLOWED US TO OPERATE WITH REDUCED PRICES. WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO OFFER REDUCED PRICING WITHOUT DOING SO AT A DEFICIT. GRANTS ARE ONE POSSIBLE WAY OF ACHIEVING THIS. PROGRAM RESTRUCTURE: CURRENTLY WE HAVE BOTH OLDER AND NEWER PROGRAM IN OUR LIST. WE NEED TO UPDATE OR DROP OLDER PROGRAMS AND MAKE SURE THEY ALL FIT CURRENT STANDARDS. IDEALLY, WE WOULD HAVE A NEW BROCHURE TO ADVERTISE THAT IS MORE READABLE AND APPLICABLE TO TEACHERS BY THE END OF THE YEAR. - WE HAVE PLANS ON REDOING OUR CURRICULUM BUT ARE STILL LOOKING TO WORK WITH TEACHERS TO BOTH SIMPLIFY AND CREATE MORE QUALITY. THE CURRENT SITUATION HAS NOT LENT ITSELF TO HAVING CLEAR ANSWERS. - WE ARE LOOKING AT CREATING SOME DIGITAL CONTENT. - DEC UPDATE: WE HAVE NOW CREATED A STRUCTURE FOR A NEW SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND ARE FILLING IT IN WITH LESSONS THAT MEET SCHOOL NEEDS AND CURRICULUM. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS: THIS YEAR WE HAVE BEGUN REACHING OUT TO SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS THAT HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH US. COVID-19 HAS POSTPONED SEVERAL PLANS REACHED WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS. WE PLAN TO CONTINUE THESE DISCUSSIONS AND SEE HOW WE CAN EXTEND OUR REACH AMONG LOCAL GROUPS. - WE ARE ALSO LOOKING INTO HOW WE CAN BETTER SERVE THOSE WHO ARE HOMESCHOOLING NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. - WE JOINED AND CREATED AN ONLINE PROFILE FOR HOME SCHOOLERS WHICH HIGHLIGHTS WAYS IN WHICH THEY CAN INTERACT AND USE THE DISCOVERY CENTER RESOURCES. EXTEND EDUCATION'S REACH AMONG VISITORS AND LOCAL POPULACE: WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT WAYS THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CAN REACH OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND HAVE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL WAYS. ONE WAY IS THROUGH AN AT HOME PROGRAM PARENTS CAN RUN WITH THEIR KIDS/TEENS. THE PROGRAM CALLED "THE CITIZEN SCIENCE BADGE PROGRAM" CREATES SEVERAL BADGES WHICH CAN BE EARNED THROUGH EXTENDED LEARNING AND EXPERIMENTATION AT HOME. - ALL THREE BOOKS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED AND A DISPLAY HAS BEEN CREATED IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. A VIDEO HIGHLIGHTING ALL OF THIS WAS CREATED AND DISPERSED TO EDUCATORS NEARBV.

STEWARDSHIP THE ORGANIZATION'S STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM HIRES YOUNG ADULTS AGES 15-25 FOR FIVE TO TWENTY-FIVE WEEKS TO COMPLETE SERVICE PROJECTS ON PUBLIC LANDS IN THE FOUR CORNERS AREA, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES. CCYC CREW MEMBERS WORK ON THE HEALTH AND ACCESSIBILITY OF THESE LANDS THROUGH PROJECTS SUCH AS BUILDING AND MAINTAINING TRAILS, FUEL MITIGATION, FENCE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE, INVASIVE SPECIES REMOVAL, AND HABITAT RESTORATION. STATISTICS: O CCYC PACKAGED 1600 BOXES AND DELIVERED ESSENTIAL FOOD & SUPPLIES TO 320 HOMES ON THE NAVAJO NATION O CONDUCTED NEARLY 7 MILES OF TRAIL BUILDING, REROUTES AND/OR MAINTENANCE O BUILT OR REPAIRED 1,088 LINEAR FEET OF FENCE O TREATED/RESTORED JUST SHY OF 15 ACRES OF LAND AND 27 MILES OF RIVER O CLEANED, MAINTAINED AND REPAIRED 31 WILDLIFE GUZZLERS THAT IMPACT 37,900 ACRES OF HABITAT. AWARDS: O PROGRAM OF THE YEAR BY THE UTAH SOCIETY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION O OUTDOORS TOGETHER AWARD BY THE STATE OF UTAH'S OFFICE OF OUTDOOR RECREATION O SAFETY: O CONTINUED TO UPDATE COVID PROTOCOLS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON (ALL) O NAVIGATED COVID AND FINISHED THE SEASON WITH ZERO POSITIVE CASES (ALL) OUTREACH: O WESTERN COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION NETWORK (WCCN); STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER - GOAL IS TO INTRODUCE CORPS AND POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS TO THE WCCN (DAVE) O WEEKLY PUBLIC LANDS SERVICE COALITION CALLS (DAVE) O ESTABLISHED CCDC AS A RIVER SUPPORTER FOR FOREVER OUR RIVERS TO INVOLVE THEM WITH THE WCCN AND CORPS (DAVE & JEFF) O UTAH OFFICE OF OUTDOOR RECREATION TRAILS FORUM MEMBER (DAVE) O DEVELOPED CLOSE WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CORPS NETWORK (DAVE) O ONGOING DEVELOPMENT OF CCYC RELATIONSHIP WITH USERVEUTAH TO HELP SECURE AN AMERICORPS GRANT (DAVE & RICKY) O CONTINUED TO WORK ON EXPANDING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH UCC AND IIC; DAVE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF THE UTAH CORPS COLLABORATIVE (DAVE) PRESENTATIONS: O DAVE PRESENTED AT THE VIRTUAL UTAH SOCIETY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE ON CORPS PROGRAMS O DAVE SUBMITTED AN ABSTRACT FOR THE VIRTUAL RIPARIAN RESTORATION CONFERENCE IN FEB OF 2021 TEAM BUILDING/ TRAINING: O CHRIS COMPLETED THE DMM INSTRUCTORS TRAINING COURSE O DAVE & RICKY PARTICIPATING IN WEEKLY AMERICORPS TRAININGS O COMPLETED A YEAR-END VIRTUAL CCYC LEADERSHIP RETREAT

ADVENTURE THE ORGANIZATION'S ADVENTURE PROGRAM COMBINES COLORADO PLATEAU ADVENTURES WITH THE EXPERTISE OF A SKILLED EDUCATOR, PUTTING SCIENCE AND EDUCATION INTO UNIQUE, HANDS-ON RIVER RAFTING AND HIKING ADVENTURES.

THE CANYON COUNTRY DISCOVERY CENTER CAMPUS PROVIDES EXPERIENTIAL AND PLACE-BASED LEARNING ABOUT THE COLORADO PLATEAU. THE CAMPUS ENGAGES STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND OTHER VISITORS WITH THE COLORADO PLATEAU ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY, AND RESOURCES. VISITORS CAN LEARN A WIDE RANGE OF SCIENCE CONCEPTS THAT USE PLACE-BASED NGSS (NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS) AND STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH) ACTIVITIES FOR GRADES K-12. OPERATIONS & GUEST SERVICES O WORKING WITH COLBY, WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A SCHEDULE OF TWO DEEP DISINFECTION SWEEPS PER DAY TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF VISITORS AND STAFF. O CONSISTENTLY DISINFECTED EXHIBIT HALL AFTER EACH VISIT TO THE CENTER. O FOLLOWED AND MAINTAINED COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS IN COMPLIANCE WITH HEALTH DEPARTMENT STANDARDS. O WITH THE ADDITION OF APPOINTMENT ONLY DARK SKY (STAR PARTIES) ASSISTED BEN WITH HOSTING EVENTS, SET UP AND TEAR DOWN OF TELESCOPES AND EQUIPMENT. O MAINTAINED GOOD RELATIONS WITH GUESTS DURING DIFFICULT TIMES DEALING WITH COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS. O ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR UPDATING AND MAINTAINING HARVEST HOST ONLINE PROFILE. O ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR UPLOADING "VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP" VIDEOS TO CCDC YOUTUBE PLATFORM. O ASSISTED WITH THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAM BY CREATING BULLETIN BOARD TYPE DISPLAY TO ALLOW PARTICIPANTS TO SHOWCASE THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS.