AXL Academy Middle Schoolers Enjoyed a Spring Trimester full of Fishing, Planting, Creating, and Adventuring! Written by AXL Academy CAP Instructor Harmony Esqueda.
AXL Academy 7th graders started the spring trimester by practicing survival skills and learning all about safety in the outdoors. In teams, students competed in “CAP Camp Olympics” where they learned how to properly set up a tent, tie a bear bag, and set up a tarp shelter. We dove into local environmental issues with a focus on energy sources and uses in Colorado, including making educational posters about energy use. Students were motivated to raise money for a local environmental organization as part of their action project, and we received a generous donation of a $75 gift card from Sprouts Farmer’s Market to use to buy treats to resell at AXL Academy’s Expedition Night. We raised enough money to donate $130 to Food Justice NW Aurora.
We spent our field day at Colorado Youth Outdoors in Fort Collins for an epic and chilly fishing trip. Several students actually caught fish, including rainbow trout! We started off our overnight trip at Staunton State Park for a lesson on archery, facilitated by generous volunteers. Then we enjoyed a night of camping at Glen Isle Resort in Bailey, CO, where we continued our fishing adventures the next day. We excitedly explored the landscape and ecology of our surroundings, which led us to find cactus, pulsatilla flowers, raspberries, juniper, and more!
AXL Academy 8th graders spent their spring trimester diving into food justice and planting seeds. We discussed the importance of accessible and culturally relevant food, and students shared about food that reminded them of home or of their family’s home countries, which included dishes from Grenada, Ghana, Haiti, Mexico, and more.
Throughout the trimester, we learned about how to plant seeds and make wildflower seed bombs. As part of our action project, students designed wildflower seed packets to distribute free of charge to their community during AXL Academy’s Expedition Night.
For our field day, we ventured over to Colorado Youth Outdoors in Fort Collins, where we did not have luck catching fish, but we had a blast staying warm playing many rounds of “Mass Paranoia” and other active games. Students helped to make a fire and hot cocoa for everyone to warm up and enjoy the views of the vast expanse of ponds surrounding us. For our overnight camping trip, we stayed at Cheley Outpost Camp in Allenspark, where we slept along a stream surrounded by aspens and pines. We gathered in small groups to learn about different survival skills such as fire building, cordage making, and whittling until we had to run for cover from a brief snowstorm. Even though we got snowed on during our overnight trip, we made the most of it with a cozy campfire, hot cocoa, and a hearty breakfast of cinnamon swirl french toast, bagels, and fruit! AXL 8th graders then took a moment to sit and reflect on their last CAP experience before moving on to high school.
A big thanks to the funders and supporters that make the CAP Class possible, including: Enterprise Holdings Foundation, Great Outdoors Colorado, Patagonia, Thorne Nature Experience, Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program and the Xcel Energy Foundation.
If you, too, are passionate about supporting students in learning and exploring outdoors, please consider making a donation or becoming a monthly donor! You’ll help invest in our students, programs, and long-term sustainability and success!
