Field Trips to City Trails

June 2015: First group to bag Picacho Peak!

Through the support of the City of Santa Fe, the S.L. Gimbel Foundation, the Lineberry Foundation, and Partners in Education, the Santa Fe Conservation Trust is pleased to offer guided field trips on city trails for children in Santa Fe Public Schools and City Summer Camps.

As of the end of May 2017, we have taken over 1,300 schoolkids out to local trails! Trips for our first thousand kids’ trips are summarized here: Summary of Field Trips, 2014 to 2016

We focused on trips to Dale Ball Trails for fourth-graders from El Camino Real Academy (formerly Agua Fria E.S.) and for kids from City Summer Camps during the first year of activities, 2014/15. In the Summer of 2015, we made our first trip to La Tierra Trails, where we continued school field trips through Fall of 2015.

Capital High School’s “Outdoors Club” ready to start a trail work session, Oct. 2015

Thanks to increased foundation support, we tripled the level of activity in the Fall of 2015 by offering field trips to fourth- and fifth- graders at Camino Real Academy as well as to fourth-graders from a second south-side school, Nina Otero Community School. We also took Capital High School’s Outdoors Club out on a work day on Tierra Contenta trails.

Fifth-graders from El Camino Real Academy show off their “Passports to Trails” at La Tierra Trails, Nov. 2015 (photo by Sara Castillo)

Throughout 2016 we continued the expanded level of field trips, returning to Dale Ball Trails, adding visits to La Piedra and Little Tesuque Trails, and even making our first summits of Atalaya Mountain – first by a new school group from Tierra Encantada Charter School in May, and then by a group of City Summer Campers in July. Our final group of City Summer Campers in 2016 participated in a demonstration trail work day near Cerro Gordo Trailhead before heading off to “bag” Picacho Peak.

In Fall of 2016 we added returning Fifth Graders from Nina Otero Community to the list of classes. By the end of the year, with 13 more outings to Dale Ball Trails, including another work day with Capital High School’s Outdoors Club, we had brought our 1,000th schoolkid to local trails!

Leaving the trail head for Dale Ball Trails, Central: The first group to complete their passports and get a Camelbak! (May 2016)

May 2017 brought new records in number of field trips (14), number of kids (301), and number of adults (47) as we visited Dale Ball Trails’ Central Section, and the adjoining Santa Fe Canyon Preserve.

All field trip participants in 2015-17 received our “Passport to Santa Fe’s Foothill Trails” with maps, descriptions, and incentives to visit all of our city trails. Many of the fifth graders have now completed four trips and redeemed the passport for a hydration pack!

Tierra Encantada Charter School summits Atalaya Mountain, May 2016

The following links describe the fun we have had, which of course begins only after participants fill out a liability waiver (in English or Spanish) and receive an orientation on the trails and hiking safety.

Field Trips to Dale Ball Trails for Camino Real Academy and Nina Otero Community School, May 3-18, 2017

Field Trips to Dale Ball Trails for Camino Real Academy and Nina Otero Community School, October 11-27, 2016

Capital High School Outdoors Club, Dale Ball Trails Work Day, Oct. 14, 2016

Trail Work Demonstration and Hike to Picacho Peak with City Summer Campers, July 29, 2016

Hike with City Summer Campers to Atalaya Mtn., July 11, 2016

Hikes with City Summer Campers, June 20 and 23, 2016

Hike with City Summer Campers, June 9, 2016

Field Trips for Camino Real Academy, Nina Otero Community School, and Tierra Encantada Charter School, May 5-18, 2016

Field Trips to La Tierra Trails with Camino Real Academy 5th Graders, Oct.-Nov., 2015

Field Trips to La Tierra Trails with Nina Otero Community School 4th Graders, Oct.-Nov., 2015

Field Trips to La Tierra Trails with Camino Real Academy 4th Graders, Sept.- Oct., 2015

Tierra Contenta Trail Work Day with Capital High School’s Outdoors Club, Oct. 16, 2015