FCAS Scholarship Essays

Fort Collins Audubon Society Scholarship

Essays from Scholarship Recipients, 2006

Name: Phaelen Mead
Age: 8½
Experience: Coyote Kids – Educo week long camp

The first day we drove down to Crestone we saw two Coyotes. How cool since we were the Coyote Kids. … Our Crestone base camp was located in the Pinon- Juniper Woodland life zone. … While we were at base camp in Crestone we saw a June Beatle, lots of Mice, Moths and a Golden Eagle.

On the fourth day we hiked to Mosca Pass near the Sand Dunes. I learned about White Fir Trees when we were hiking on Mosca Pass. I learned that White Fir trees have purple, blue or black pine cones that stick straight up and grow near the top of the tree. The only way the pine cones can fall off the tree is if any wild life is trying to eat the nuts and knocks the pine cones off the branch. All fir trees grow their pine cones the same way except the Douglas fir which is not a real fir tree.

The other thing we learned while hiking on Mosca Pass was about lots of different wild flowers. I will name some for you: Fire Penstemon, Forget Me Not, Sky Rocket and Indian Paint Brush. All the flowers were quite different except the Fire Penstemon and Sky Rocket. One had to look at the leaves to tell which was which. While we made dinner there was a big thunder storm and then a rainbow. ….. ….. I tasted the Pinon Pine nuts. They tasted like candy. I learned that the Pinon Pine trees help all the animals and birds living around it, because they eat the nuts.

We slept under the stars the fourth and the fifth night. It was awesome! The last day we picked up everything around the base camp so not to leave a trace.

Name: Collin Brozka
Age: 17
Experience: FRCC Colorado River Ecology class

I attended a class at Front Range Community College to learn about the desert ecosystem of the Colorado River. …..
The class was comprised of 12 people of varied ages, anywhere from seventeen to forty-five years old. ….. We spent three nights on the river, and along the way learned much about its fragile ecosystem. The crypto biotic crust, for example, was the most delicate element in the area. The slogan down there was “Don’t bust the crust,” which basically meant don’t step on it.
The last day on the river was definitely the most exciting. We shot several class three rapids and even one class four. We then landed just a few hours outside of Moab. From here, we thanked out guides and pilled back into our vans. We headed toward Arches National Park. This was one of my most favorite parts of the trip because the arches were amazing and it was very peaceful both nights we were there.

Name: Jolene Webb
Age: 18
Experience: FRCC Colorado River Ecology class

All I have to say is thank you; thank you for a blast and a half—it was so much fun and I learned so much. This trip allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, doing things that I thought I would never do..….
I learned that I am fully capable of getting into a car with a group of strangers—believe me, they were strangers. …. From them I learned how to more fully work as a team, utilizing each persons individual strengths and weaknesses, learned how to be a little more understanding and a little more patient.
Also being great was the opportunity to learn first hand in a beautiful ecosystem. Between the Colorado and Arches, we were provided breath taking sceneries and vast amounts of wildlife. My favorite part of rafting down the river would have had to be all the birds. There were cliff swallows peeking their little heads out of mud nests and bald eagles sitting high in the trees. It truly was a sight to behold. Arches showed me a living sight that I never even knew existed, cryptobiotic crust. What a fragile, yet highly complex thing. Who would have thought that something so microscopic could get together to be a fighting force for the desert ecosystem? Cryptobiotic crust being composed of lichens, mosses and what not, work together to provide moisture and nutrients to the barren ground of the desert. Without it, what little vegetation the area actually posses would vanish in great amounts. The crust truly acts a fighting force against the barren ground.
….. I just wanted to …. express my appreciation for all the opportunities your society made possible for me. I wish your society the best and hope that it will be around for many years to come, hopefully providing many more eager students with the same opportunities and good times.