Young Stewards in Action: Sprucing up Crystal River Elementary
By Ben Sherman, RFOV Education Director
This spring, second graders at Crystal River Elementary School took their learning beyond the classroom during an exciting Spruce Up Your School (SUYS) project. Building on lessons from their Pollinator Unit, students teamed up with teachers, parent volunteers, and Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) staff to transform a section of their school grounds into a pollinator-friendly landscape.
The effort was months in the making. Thanks to generous donations of time, labor, and materials (everything from removing turf grass, installing timber borders, and delivering tons of fresh topsoil), the site was ready for small hands to make a big impact. On the project day, students put on gloves, picked up tools, and set to work. Some worked on wheelbarrow teams, helping each other load, balance, and move mulch to the trees. Others helped dig holes - carefully checking the depth and width to create good homes for the new wildflower plants.
By the end of the day, the second-grade students had planted dozens of native wildflowers, spread thousands of native grass and wildflower seeds, and helped apply over a ton of mulch around existing trees! This work not only improved the health of the trees and soil, but also created a welcoming space for pollinators and people alike!
The Crystal River Elementary project was one of five SUYS initiatives completed across the Roaring Fork Valley this past spring. RFOV returned to Cactus Valley Elementary in Silt and Kathryn Senor Elementary in New Castle, and for the first time partnered with Graham Mesa Elementary (Rifle), Crystal River Elementary (Carbondale), and Roaring Fork High School (Carbondale). Each project is unique, while offering students hands-on opportunities to learn about environmental stewardship and habitat restoration.
With three additional school projects planned for this fall, SUYS is on track to engage over 1,000 students and contribute 2,000 hours of impactful, hands-on stewardship in 2025 alone. These efforts not only improve school campuses - they also serve our mission: to cultivate a lifelong appreciation for the environment in the next generation of stewards.
