Lincoln Hills Cares is a non-profit outdoor education center located in Colorado. Lincoln Hills Care’s goal is to help develop the next generation of leaders through “outdoor education and recreation, cultural history exploration and workforce advancement.” The organization also holds a particular focus on giving young people access to outdoor experiences who otherwise may not have had that opportunity.
Creating more equitable access to outdoor experiences is in Lincoln Hills’ DNA. In 1922, Lincoln Hills was established as America’s only western resort open to African-Americans. When Lincoln Hills Cares was founded by Robert F. Smith and Matthew Burkett, they made sure to keep the focus on expanding access to outdoor education and recreation for all.
Today, Lincoln Hills Cares is living out its mission — working with more than 50,000 program participants to show them the promise of the outdoors and outdoor activities in 2019 alone. These experiences can be transformative and can change people’s outlooks on the world around us.
Danielle Ardrey, the Conservation & Youth Education Specialist with the Colorado State Forest Service who works with Lincoln Hills Cares, says that “opportunities like this to bring youth into the outdoor setting are really, really important because kids need that opportunity to get outside to see their connection with nature, their impact with nature.” She went on to argue that understanding this connection is a fundamental part of helping teach young people to be good stewards of nature.
To learn more about the work that Lincoln Hills Cares is doing, visit their website.
