Adventure Acres Foundation

06/03/2026

For the past few months, I've been working on a new project called the Colorado Wellbeing & Stewardship Pulse.

The idea is simple:
How are Coloradans really doing?

Not just financially, but in terms of wellbeing, stress, community connection, stewardship, hope, and our relationship to the places we call home.

The survey takes about 4–7 minutes and explores wellbeing, stress, community connection, stewardship, hope, and our relationship to the places we call home.

Take the Pulse:
https://pulse.adventureacresfoundation.org

My hope is that this becomes an annual reflection on what helps people, communities, and ecosystems thrive across Colorado.

Open through July 4.

05/19/2026

The Fremont County Citizen Science Project pilot may be wrapping up, but observations are still coming in 🌿

So far, students have documented:

• 216 observations
• 71 species
• 95+ participants (Some students partnered up and shared phones during the project, so participation was even broader than the numbers alone show.)

Huge thank you to Ashley Goldenberg and Dr. Kristin Shapiro for helping make this happen with their students.

Using the iNaturalist.org app, students documented plants, insects, birds, fungi, and other organisms across Fremont County, contributing to a real, public biodiversity dataset while connecting more deeply with the natural world around them.

Here are just a few of the observations that were made 👇

05/16/2026

Today I walked two future cleanup sites in Cañon City with Mayor Phil Lund.

Both areas have seen heavy dumping, debris accumulation, and long-term environmental impact over time, including areas where unhoused individuals have previously camped or gathered.

These aren’t always easy places to address, but they matter. Cleaner public spaces, healthier waterways, and safer shared spaces benefit everyone.

We’ve identified one of the locations as the site for the upcoming Adventure Acres Foundation Spring Cleanup, and we're excited to continue coordinating with the City of Cañon City on dates and next steps.

Learn more about the cleanup project here:
🌱 https://adventureacresfoundation.org/project/spring-2026-community-cleanup-fremont-county/

More details soon.

Help fund Adventure Acres Foundation’s first community cleanup by equipping volunteers with reusable safety gear, cleanup tools, and low-waste hydration supplies. Your support provides everything needed to safely engage 20–30 volunteers in hands-on environmental stewardship across Southern Color...

05/15/2026

A huge thank you to Fremont360 for the amazing article on the upcoming Community Stewardship Days this summer with Adventure Acres Foundation and Observer Ranch, along with the support for last night’s ImpactUp gathering at Emergent Campus.

Really grateful for the coverage and for helping shine a light on the kind of community-based stewardship, education, and collaboration we’re trying to build here in Fremont County.

If you’d like to check it out, the article is on pages 7 & 8 of the May 12–18 publication:
https://online.fliphtml5.com/aitsw/nfwd/?fbclid=IwY2xjawR0PnFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe16DKmrNPPTM6952aGL4GYZkbgkhpqX9XZ7zn7JaYl02bGbPenGffGE-_FJQ_aem_erInKqNEFSlGXeDakAgttA =7

Thank you again Lori and the Fremont360 team for supporting local organizations and community efforts like these. 🌱
f

Stay in the loop with what's happening this week in Fremont County, Colorado with the latest issue of the Fremont360 Weekly Magazine!

05/13/2026

We just wrapped the first half of the Fremont County Citizen Science Project (Pilot) with around 120 Cañon City 7th grade students out in the field using iNaturalist.org app to document local plants, insects, fungi, and wildlife across Fremont County, Colorado.

What started as students walking around with phones quickly turned into curiosity, observation, and real engagement with the environment around them.

Every observation collected contributes to a global biodiversity database used by scientists, educators, researchers, and conservationists around the world.

This is what hands-on, real-world learning can look like.

Huge thank you to the teachers, staff, and students who helped make today happen. We’re just getting started.

Also, a huge thank you to Phil's Barber Shop and Di Ritos Italian Restaurant for providing the pizza for the entire 7th-grade class!!

05/10/2026

After such a dry stretch, it’s good to see water finally moving again through Fremont County.

Runoff feeding into the Arkansas River. Ditches flowing. Fields starting to green up for local producers.

A reminder of how connected all of this really is:
snowpack, rivers, farms, wildlife, communities.

Colorado runs on water.

05/09/2026

Day 0 of a small backyard dryland research project in Fremont County, Colorado.

We built 4 test plots to see what actually helps soil and plants survive in harsh high-desert conditions with no irrigation.

Each plot will test a different low-input approach:
• Control
• Chicken coop waste + cedar shavings
• Compost + mulch
• Rock crescent water harvesting

We’ll document changes over time and share what works, what fails, and what we learn along the way.

04/29/2026

‘Be conservative’ toward water consumption, Fremont County Commissioner Dwayne McFall pleads.

‘Be conservative’ toward water consumption, Fremont County Commissioner Dwayne McFall pleads