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The students at Lyons Elementary will have an amazing opportunity to learn about environmental stewardship while trying a number of outdoor activities designed especially for children. The administration and staff of LES are excited to welcome the Outdoor Education Intensive to the school. The Intensive is an “outdoor-education, on-campus immersion program” that travels to schools bringing four stations that students will rotate through during one full day. The stations will include a portable rock climbing wall, a mountain bike skills course, a kayak paddle tank, and a Leave No Trace outdoor classroom.

All of the activities will be age appropriate and groups will be created by skill level to accommodate “first-timers” to enthusiasts. For an hour after school, on the day that your child participates, parents will be invited to join their children at the Intensive to see what they have learned, and to try the activities with them. The Intensive will be held at Lyons Elementary on Thursday and Friday, April 21/22, and Monday and Tuesday, April 25/26.

The mission of the program is to introduce students to non-competitive active outdoor lifestyles using experiences that provide personal development (physical, social, and emotional), environmental understanding and stewardship, memorable adventures, and teambuilding. The Intensive will be facilitated by Avid4 Adventure, an organization that exclusively provides children with outdoor education and summer camp programs. The founder of Avid4 is David Secunda, who formally directed the CU Outdoor Education Program and the Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America. David has brought together a group of highly experienced outdoor professionals to deliver the Intensive to Lyons Elementary students.

The staff at LES is very excited about this program, and believes it is a great opportunity for all children. At the same time, this is an unbudgeted expense and they will be asking parents to offset the cost of bringing this unique enrichment program by providing some of the per student cost, which will be $11. The school will provide the rest of the $22 total cost per student. They anticipate that all students will participate, and financial aid will be available if needed.

Detailed information, including what day each class will be participating, daily schedules, and logistical information, as well as risk acknowledgement and release forms, will be sent home with students. Watch for an upcoming newsletters for more information as well. Please remember that in order for your child to participate in this program, signed releases must be back at school no later than Friday, April 15. If you have questions, or would like more information about this program, please feel free to contact LES Principal Christa Keppler at (303) 823-6915, or the Program Director, Sarah Pekala, at (720) 249-2412 X-8 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .