Arizona Trail Association: Seeds of Stewardship Program

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Arizona Trail Association: Seeds of Stewardship Program

We’ve consistently witnessed how a childhood spent in nature positively influences a person’s future views on and actions toward the environment.

The mission of the Seeds of Stewardship program is to provide educational and meaningful outdoor experiences that empower youth to become the next generation of stewards of Arizona’s wild landscapes. Exposure to nature at a young age and chances to make memories outdoors are absolutely imperative for the future of Arizona's trails and wild places. Seeds of Stewardship helps foster meaningful conne

ctions with the natural world within Arizona Trail Gateway Communities. Through adventure, exploration, and developmentally-appropriate firsthand experiences with nature, we encourage students to have empathy for the environment, which later translates into action through stewardship projects. Seeds of Stewardship does this by bringing each group outdoors 5-10 times per school year. Students hike to incredible places to learn about the natural phenomena in their local wild spaces. In Arizona schools, students rarely have more than 30 minutes to be outside within a 6-8-hour period. Seeds of Stewardship brings education outdoors, allowing youth to spend their entire school day immersed in their nearby deserts and forests, while enriching the lessons and concepts they learn in the classroom—just in an experiential, deeper, and longer-lasting way.

05/18/2026

A special stewardship day with 5th graders at Marshall Elementary!

Staff and crew members from and led students in removing invasive Dalmatian toadflax from the park next to their school, while sharing about careers in conservation.

Shonto Greyeyes, Flagstaff AZCC's Program Director, closed out the day by sharing about Dine' cultural responsibilities to the land, and encouraged all the students to folllow pathways of stewardship and connection.

This was our fourth and final program of the school year with each of these students, and we already look forward to next school year!

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Traditional ancestral lands of the Hopi, Western Apache, Pueblo, Zuni, and Hohokam peoples.

05/14/2026

Day two camping at the Grand Canyon with 5th grade Dine' students from STAR School.

We started the day on the AZT at the South Kaibab Trailhead, where RisingBuffalo Maybee, Grand Canyon Tribal Affairs Program Manager, led an interpretive walk and spoke with students about the importance of Indigenous stewardship in National Parks.

Next, we hiked on the AZT to Ooh Aah point for lunch on trail, before returning to the rim. Students enjoyed a visit to the Yavapai Geology Museum where we watched snow flurries move through the Canyon.

Back at camp, students told the story of their day through the eyes of native wildlife, and then created that story on canvas using linoleum block animal track prints.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Grand Canyon National Park is the traditional lands of the Havasu'baaja (Havasupai Tribe), Hwal'bay (Hualapai Tribe), Hopisinom (Hopi Tribe), Diné (Navajo Nation), Nungwu (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni), and Yavap'e - Nṉéé (Yavapai-Apache Nation).

05/09/2026

A cozy sunset at Shoshone Point with Dine' 5th graders from the STAR School, complete with blankets and hot cocoa.

What a great wrap up to the first day of a three-day cultural camping trip at the Grand Canyon, in partnership with Grand Canyon Tribal Affairs.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Grand Canyon National Park is the traditional lands of the Havasu'baaja (Havasupai Tribe), Hwal'bay (Hualapai Tribe), Hopisinom (Hopi Tribe), Diné (Navajo Nation), Nungwu (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni), and Yavap'e - Nṉéé (Yavapai-Apache Nation).

05/08/2026

First morning at the Grand Canyon with Dine' 5th graders from STAR School (Service to All Relations). Tribal Affairs staff met us at the Tribal Welcome Center before leading an interpretive program at Desert View Watchtower.

They emphasized the importance of Indigenous representation and voices in the National Park, and talked about pathways towards careers in interpretation and conservation.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Grand Canyon National Park is the traditional lands of the Havasu'baaja (Havasupai Tribe), Hwal'bay (Hualapai Tribe), Hopisinom (Hopi Tribe), Diné (Navajo Nation), Nungwu (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni), and Yavap'e - Nṉéé (Yavapai-Apache Nation).

05/03/2026

On our third and final day camping at the Grand Canyon with Coconino High School's Structured English Immersion program, we met park rangers at Shoshone Point, where they led us in painting with water colors.

It was a wonderful and reflective wrap-up to the program, and the art these students created will be included in a gallery walk at their school later in the week.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Grand Canyon National Park is the traditional lands of the Havasu'baaja (Havasupai Tribe), Hwal'bay (Hualapai Tribe), Hopisinom (Hopi Tribe), Diné (Navajo Nation), Nungwu (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni), and Yavap'e - Nṉéé (Yavapai-Apache Nation).

05/02/2026

Day two camping at the Grand Canyon with Coconino High School's Structured English Immersion program.

Students visited the Kolb Studio before heading part way down Bright Angel, where we had lunch and encountered a mule train. Back at camp, students practiced their English language skills as they wrote stories featuring animals that can be found in the canyon, and then told their stories on canvas using animal track linoleum block prints.

A great dinner of carne asada was planned and prepared by the students, followed by s'mores around the campfire.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Grand Canyon National Park is the traditional lands of the Havasu'baaja (Havasupai Tribe), Hwal'bay (Hualapai Tribe), Hopisinom (Hopi Tribe), Diné (Navajo Nation), Nungwu (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni), and Yavap'e - Nṉéé (Yavapai-Apache Nation).

05/01/2026

A great first day of camping at the Grand Canyon with students in 's Structured English Immersion program.

Through this partnership, Seeds of Stewardship supports students in building a sense of place and connection in Northern AZ while teaching and practicing English language skills.

We began the day at Grandview Lookout Tower, followed by a visit to Desert View Watchtower, before setting up camp at Mather Campground. Students prepared Mexican-style burgers for dinner and then we caught sunset at Hopi Point.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Grand Canyon National Park is the traditional lands of the Havasu'baaja (Havasupai Tribe), Hwal'bay (Hualapai Tribe), Hopisinom (Hopi Tribe), Diné (Navajo Nation), Nungwu (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), A:shiwi (Pueblo of Zuni), and Yavap'e - Nṉéé (Yavapai-Apache Nation).

04/25/2026

A great wrap up to the school year doing trail work with 5th graders at Puente de Hózhó.

We learned the basics of trail assessment and maintenance before working on the Sendero de Hózhó, a 1,000ft loop trail we designed and built with students on their school campus two years ago.

Students also learned about invasive species and habitat restoration as they removed Dalmatian toadflax from their school campus.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Traditional ancestral lands of the Hopi, Western Apache, Pueblo, Zuni, and Hohokam peoples.

04/22/2026

This Earth Day, highschoolers in .community.college's Path2Purpose program learned about habitat restoration efforts and removed invasive species at Picture Canyon.

After lunch, local organizations led career exploration stations with students, focusing on careers in conservation and outdoor education and recreation.

Thank you to , , , , and for a wonderful day inspiring the next generation of stewards.

Seeds of Stewardship is proud to organize Earth Day events each year with Path2Purpose, which is a program that engages with high school students who have faced challenges in pursuing higher education, and provides resources and guidance necessary for these students to succeed in college, achieve their degrees, and secure meaningful employment.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Traditional ancestral lands of the Hopi, Western Apache, Pueblo, Zuni, and Hohokam peoples.

04/20/2026

"My favorite part of the day was learning new things and how to use new things." - Abdul

We had a wonderful day birding at Picture Canyon with Flagstaff High School's Structured English Immersion program. Students learned bird and habitat vocabulary in the classroom the day before, and then how to use binoculars and spotting scopes as we identified ten species of birds together.

Following the outing, each student will choose one bird to research as part of a broader Arizona bioregion project that will be the focus of the rest of their school year.

Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting these free outdoor education programs:

s.forestservice

🌎 Traditional ancestral lands of the Hopi, Western Apache, Pueblo, Zuni, and Hohokam peoples.

Address

Flagstaff, AZ
86001

Website

https://aztrail.org/youth/seeds-of-stewardship/

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