Land Acknowledgment

This is a community stewardship day, which we acknowledge takes place on the traditional unceded territory of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Cheyenne, and Jicarilla Apache Nations*. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced occupation of their territory, and we honor and respect the many diverse indigenous people connected to this land on which our stewardship days take place.  

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds and communities. Feel free to come with a friend(s) and/or family member(s)! Minors must be accompanied by an adult, most volunteer days are suited for those 10 and older though some days may have higher age restrictions. For any children younger than 10 or if you have questions about your child's participation in a volunteer day please contact Calla at calla@rmfi.org. 

Meeting location:
We will be parking and starting our day from the Sand Canyon lot in Red Rock Canyon Open Space. When you enter the park you will come upon a roundabout, the sand canyon lot will be the first right from the roundabout. There are no bathroom facilities within Red Rock Canyon, though there typically is a Portalet at the main parking lot for the park. Please use the Google Maps link provided below for directions to the trailhead parking lot. 

Red Rock Canyon (Sand Canyon Trail Parking)

Time:

Online registration will close at 11:59 pm on Thursday, April 13th. If you are able, please register for this stewardship day online; however, we will provide paper copies of the registration form on-site. We do ask that all volunteers be available for the entire workday, if you need any other accommodations please contact us prior to registering.

Activity:
This City of Colorado Springs Parks property is popular with hikers, runners, equestrians, and mountain bikers. The project will address issues like the following or similar, trail damage caused by erosion, habitat fragmentation, and non-designated trail use. Project tasks may include decompacting hardened soils, spreading native grass seed and mulch, transplanting small plants, moving materials such as rock, dirt, and timbers, and potentially constructing check dams to slow and prevent further erosion as well as fencing to reinforce the points of closure and keep trail users on the adjacent designated trails. This is moderately strenuous work using tools in the outdoors. For this workday, we will also have a second area of work that will focus on a more strenuous task and require moving rock material and working alongside RMFI staff to build a rock staircase. Be prepared for a rewarding day of trail work! If you have concerns about accessibility on this stewardship day, please reach out to us, or for your reference please use our Trail Terminology Guide to learn more about this activity.

For more information about what to bring for the stewardship day, visit our FAQ page.

*If you would like to learn about the native territories that each of our projects are located on, please follow this link: https://www.rmfi.org/projects.