Environmental education lies at the heart of RMFI’s mission, providing the “why” behind the on-the-ground work.  RMFI runs a college-accredited education program, Earth Corps, for undergraduates in which students spend 30 days completing an environmental project while studying the environmental science and land management policy issues of the project site.  RMFI also runs internships focusing on environmental leadership, restoration research, outdoor education, and trail and restoration techniques. All education programs are built around an environmental service project.  In addition to these programs, RMFI aims to integrate an educational component into every volunteer program. This varies with each program but is as simple as a brief geology talk in the Garden of the Gods to as complex as a hands-on hydrology lesson on Pikes Peak.  

Earth Corps

Earth Corps is one our most inspiring and rewarding programs that offers an innovative, hands-on approach to environmental education. We refer to Earth Corps as RMFI’s quintessential program, no other combines our key programmatic areas of stewardship, education, and research as outlined by our mission while delivering impact that resonates for a lifetime. The program is an intensive 30-day, for-credit environmental service and education program for undergraduate students.  This unique, hands-on program integrates a curriculum of land management policy and wilderness systems science with on-the-ground service work.  The environmental service project focuses on completing critical restoration and trail construction in a high use backcountry setting. Run in partnership with University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, students receive 4 credit hours in Field Studies in Geography.

Environmental Leadership Internship

Run in conjunction with Earth Corps, see above, the ELI offers motivated undergraduate students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience leading field-based trail and restoration projects. Student interns play a dynamic and integral role in the planning and implementation of RMFI’s projects over the course of the Earth Corps program plus one semester. Interns will have the opportunity to participate in the Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point Trail Project, Garden of the Gods Community Restoration and Stewardship Program, South Colony Lakes Basin Campsite Restoration Program, and the Shelf Road Restoration Program.

Kellogg-Ahlberg Desert Adventure

Open to Colorado College students, this 10-day program run in partnership with Colorado College's Outdoor Recreation Club combines environmental service with recreation in Utah's beautiful Canyonlands country.  Students spend 5 days completing trail and restoration work in the highly popular rock climbing area Indian Creek Canyon, followed by a 5-day backpacking and canyoneering adventure.  Integrated into both components is a curriculum that focuses on the ecology of the area and an introduction to the land management policy.

Fountain Valley Senior Seminar

Started in the late 90s, this program has been offering the graduating class of Fountain Valley School an opportunity for one last hurrah of camaraderie before graduation, while completing key environmental service projects in the Pikes Peak region. Every year students spend 4 days camping in a beautiful public lands site, learning about the geology and ecology of the area, and reconstructing trails and restoring damaged landscapes.