GET INTO OPEN SPACE!

Transportation and Service Project Award

The Get Into Open Space program provides rented bus service for school-aged children to attend Open Space Alliance and City of Albuquerque Open Space Division supported service learning projects.

The City of Albuquerque Open Space Division manages over 29,000 acres of extraordinary landscapes protected as Major Public Open Space.  Open Space helps to preserve world class archaeological sites, dormant volcanoes, forested mountains and uplands, desert grasslands, 366 acres of active farmland, migratory bird habitat, wetlands, and a 20-mile section of the world’s largest riverside cottonwood forest. The community at large enjoys hiking, biking, horseback riding, wildlife observation, and inspiration on these public lands.  Open Space preservation serves to contain the growth of the city and create natural spaces among developments as well.

Open Space depends on the citizens to support acquisition and participate in public land conservation. Educating the youngest members of the community about its virtues and nurturing their relationship with the environment is a high priority.  Children are the future stewards of Open Space. If a relationship with the natural world is not encouraged, future stewardship of the land and water is uncertain.

Since 1996, the Open Space Division and the Open Space Alliance have worked together to provide programs for children and youth that engage them in the maintenance, enhancement, and restoration of our outdoor areas.  Now, with generous funding from REI (www.rei.com ), we are able to expand the stewardship experience and provide transportation for the class to the program.

Projects will include:

• Trash Clean Up:  This project is typically aimed at the very young, but is appropriate for any age. It teaches volunteers about the impacts of trash on our environment and has provided great opportunities to partner with REI and include the Leave No Trace program.
• Trail Maintenance:  This project engages the middle to high school age student and brings awareness to the importance of sustainable trail systems.  Students build erosion control features from natural materials and close unofficial trails that contribute to erosion on our delicate desert landscape.
• Tree Planting:  This project involves all ages.  Students are taught about the life cycle of a cottonwood tree and how the world’s largest riverside cottonwood forest is threatened by the interruption of the Rio Grande’s natural flows.

Every project includes the following outline:

• Orientation to Open Space and its importance to our community and the environment;
• Background and History about the specific Open Space area they are working in; 
• Importance of their contribution to the environment and how it will make a difference;
• Safety talk;
• Instructions on how to accomplish the project;
• Engagement of children and youth in outdoor activities;
• Lessons Learned discussion of what the students gained from the experience and what Open Space staff learned from them.

Teachers awarded a Get Into Open Space allowance will schedule a date for the fieldtrip and receive a confirmation packet from the Open Space Division.  The packet will include instructions for the fieldtrip and a post-evaluation form that will help us determine the impact the experience had on the students.

If you cannot download the application, please call Bill Pentler at (505) 452-5222.

Thank you for involving your students in the protection of our local public lands.