January 2026 marks my five-year anniversary with the Outdoor Lab Foundation. From the doldrums of canceled camps and no overnight programming during COVID, to now having over 90% of all sixth graders attend in 2025, we have come a long way.
Outdoor Lab was the place to be in 2025. We now have two new principals working closely together, and with them, renewed energy and a growth mindset to make more meaningful and relevant the Outdoor Lab experience for all schools and students.
Together, we launched a new Fire Ecology core class and have reimagined the Evening Programs students receive. We redesigned the Field Study Journals to feel more like a keepsake so that students are more connected to the program after they return home. We increased the number of credits interns can earn through concurrent enrollment at Red Rocks Community College’s Outdoor Leadership Program to up to six. Every intern now receives a Wilderness First Aid credential and a Leave No Trace teaching credential.
But nothing illustrates Outdoor Lab’s dedication to students more than the single day experience Mount Blue Sky organized in May to welcome about 20 students with severe special needs from the district’s Fletcher Miller School. These students spend most of their lives in mobility devices and under the careful supervision of family and professional care providers. It was a joy to see them on the deck of our new dining hall enjoying the mountain views and feeling the warm sun on their faces. The teachers and interns took great care to make the day in the mountains a fun one for them and their families. Outdoor Lab is built on the foundation that every student deserves a transformative experience in the outdoors regardless of their socioeconomic background or physical ability.
For different reasons, middle school and high school are times of change, but Outdoor Lab remains a steadfast source of stability, community, and belonging for thousands of sixth grade students, teachers, High School Leaders, and interns. While we worry about rates of anxiety, depression, and disconnection among our children and teens, Outdoor Lab remains a vital source of human connection and growth.
Our program does more than take students to the mountains. We build belonging in a time when students report feeling isolated. We cultivate resilience when life feels uncertain. We connect students to nature, to their peers, and most importantly, to themselves.
In the coming months, we will be celebrating Windy Peak’s 50th anniversary. To think of all the lives that have been transformed thanks to their time on that campus is humbling. To think of the leaders and teachers that had the foresight to purchase the property in 1975 is inspiring.
While we celebrate Windy Peak in 2026, we will also stay deeply committed to our core mission. We will work to ensure more youth, from every background and walk of life, have access to Outdoor Lab by reducing barriers, funding scholarships, supporting teachers, and forging new community partnerships.
Thank you for being part of this local tradition. You are making these unforgettable experiences and memories happen for so many children each year.
Sincerely,
