This week-long residential seminar will be held at CSU’s Pingree Park Campus, June 3th -7th, 2013, and will be an exciting and in-depth science experience. There will be four tracks of study for the 60 participants. Students will stay in the cabins with evening activities assistants. Wear your hiking boots!
This camp will begin on the morning of June 3rd with parents bringing the students to Preston. After a short opening ceremony the students the will be transported to Pingree to begin their work studying animal behavior, environmental issues, water ecology, geology and more.
Experience an in-depth week of natural science in the heart of the rockies at Colorado State University’s Pingree Park Campus.
Young scientists will explore one of four themes:
What are the environmental impacts of Eco Week at Pingree Park? – Schmer
One Hundred busses, one thousand five hundred kids, three thousand hiking boots, one thousand five hundred bags of trail mix, and eight hundred thousand hiking boot steps up the Mummy pass…. How does all of this impact Pingree Park? In this exciting class we will be exploring that question. How much water is used during the ECO/WECO time period, how much waste is taken out of Pingree Park? We have so much to explore. Come and learn how all of that impacts Pingree Park by doing some outdoor learning, active exploring and so much more.
How does the forest regenerate after a fire? -Laszlo
Colorado State has a continuing research structure to study the impact of the 1994 fire. Participants in this theme will contribute to this ongoing body of data as they learn about the amazing relationships that exist in the forest between animals, plants, soils and water in Pingree Park and the myriad changes that occur after a forest fire. Soil analysis, clearing ‘dog hair’ growth, learning how to identify indigenous plants species will all be part of this course.
What are the relationships between the woods and waters of the Pingree Valley? Cornell
If water is for the fish and trees are for the birds, where do the moose fit? And weren’t the Beetles a British rock band? How does a small insect kill millions of acres of trees, and how does that affect the water supply of Fort Collins? Where have all the aspen gone? In this group, participants will look at how trees and water impact one another, how components of a forest ecosystem impact the world around them, and how humans fit into this web of connectedness. Lessons will include visiting different life-zones in the Pingree valley, measuring trees and forests as a forester would, assessing the health of the region, and formulating a management plan based on questions/answers generated by students and their observations.
How has wildlife habitat changed in the past 25 years? – Neils
Why do elk, deer, moose, mountain lions, black bears, pika, pine martin, a multitude of birds, maybe moose mice, and many other animals call Pingree Park home during late Spring, Summer, and into the Fall? What keeps these animals coming back year after year? Which animals stay the entire year? What can I do to lean in and actually improve the habitat they call home? Get ready to roll your sleeves up past your armpits, make a difference, and learn more in one week than many will learn in a lifetime. It is guaranteed that this won’t be your typical “lunch on the hillside” experience.
Evenings at STEM Pingree
The learning will continue into the evening at STEM Pingree. There will be a series of expert guest presenters including topics such as cowboy poetry, astronomy, weather, forestry, and large mammal biology. And, evening activities assistants will lead the students in a variety of simulations and games to extend the fun of the day. These assistants will be with the students from cabin time through breakfast.
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