VOC’s 2019 CHAMPIONS PEOPLE & Thank you to the volunteers and partners who went PROJECTS above and beyond to make our work possible this year. • 890 VOC MEMBERS 2019 AWARD WINNERS • 4,634 VOLUNTEERS by the • including 671 YOUTH VOLUNTEERS Steve Austin Mentor of the Year | Glenn Scadden numers • contributed 35,792 VOLUNTEER HOURS 2019 • ON 93 PROJECTS in 63 PLACES… equal to find Curt Chitwood Volunteer of the Year | Rose Beyer a DONATED LABOR VALUE of $958,516 • including 14 YOUTH-ONLY PROJECTS Roni Sherb New Volunteer of the Year | Henry McLaughlin TRAINING & LEADERSHIP Youth Volunteer of the Year | Asher Hoyt • 31 CAIRN YOUTH PROGRAM GRADUATES HABITATS & Your • 22 NEW VOC VOLUNTEER LEADERS Unsung Hero | Christa Whitmore Through VOC’s Stepping Up Stewardship Toolkit… ENVIRONMENT • Planted 3,498 plants, Land Manager of the Year | Town of Castle Rock • 333 VOLUNTEERS & AGENCY STAFF TRAINED place shrubs, and trees – at 30 TRAININGS THROUGH VOC’S OUTDOOR providing habitat for wildlife Partner Agency of the Year | SEP Program at Colorado STEWARDSHIP INSTITUTE (OSI) Department of Public and improving the quality of water resources by the Health & Environment • 13 PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATIONS numers • How-to Guides downloaded 391 times • Planted, harvested, 2019 and donated 240 pounds of produce in 2019 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE RECREATION urban vegetable gardens ADVISORY COMMITTEE (LDAC) MEMBERS • Restored 12.5 miles of trail and built an additional • 1,150 observations Gordon Carruth Arthur Knapp Paul Smith 9 miles – combined, we worked on enough trail to hike up made in iNaturalist app for and down Mt. Bierstadt three times! Ryan Durham Lisa Thilker Ellen Urell our new Citizen Science Erin King Steve West • Closed and revegetated 1.8 miles of user-created projects, collecting data “social” trails, including the installation of 66 erosion control to inform management barriers and check dams of wildlife and natural @voc_colorado 2018-2019 CAIRN MENTORS • Built and restored 315 steps to mitigate trail erosion resources Tamara Atkin Susan Dellinger Pierce Lively and improve trail experience and safety – enough steps to Garrett Bourcier Annelise Howell Rachael Sandoval-Attaway • Mitigated 24 acres take you to the top of Red Rocks 2 ½ times! (about 18 football fields!) of Allison Crouse Sharon Lafer Shawn Quan • Constructed and restored 496 feet of turnpike, invasive weeds puncheon, or elevated tread, allowing sustainable access Printed on a renewable, farmed resource, containing 10% PCW • Thinned 11 acres of through sensitive meadows and wetlands and sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to- things stewardship. with all date 600 South Marion Parkway Denver, CO 80209-2597 303-715-1010 [email protected] voc.org #FindYourPlace with VOC! Follow us on social media 2019 NEW VOLUNTEER LEADERS trees to improve forest recycled paper with H-UV technology which operates with reduced energy consumption, reduced paper waste, and produces NO ozone emissions. Crew Leaders • Constructed 28 climbing turns and 4 switchbacks, health and mitigate fire risk and built and maintained 1671 sq. feet of rock wall to Paul Amerling Katy Joly Adam Merkel • Opened up 10 acres support sustainable trail grades and minimize erosion David Brewster Linda Larocque Andrew Primo of wildlife habitat by Jamie Burke Jeremy Major Dan Regelson • Installed and maintained 391 water drainage and removing a half-mile of diversion structures to mitigate erosion on trails Julia Catalini Cathy McCurdy John Ward obsolete fence . Matt Ferrier Erica Miller Lindy Webb • Built 9 bridges totaling 130 feet in length • Built 1,636 feet of buck ‘n’ rail fence and improved and installed 60 campground pads to provide camping opportunities Meet the outdoor champions Crew Chefs Tool Managers Technical Advisors that have minimal impact on the surrounding natural area whose time, talent, resources, Paul Clarke Rosa Chandler Mike Mattice Susan Graham Henry McLaughlin and passion cared for OSI Instructors Joni Loftis 2019 Financial Overview by the Colorado this year. Brandon Smith Revenue Expenses Government Agencies 31% Program Costs 82% Corporations2019 21% numers Administration 10% 2019 VOLUNTEER PHOTOGRAPHERS Foundations 18% Fundraising 8% 2019 YEAR-END REPORT Scott Anderson - Alexander Bliskovsky - Cindy Bond - Sue Daniels Photography - Morgann Dulle This report made possible through the generous support of Sandy Elliott. Individuals 18% cogives.org/VOC Jessica Hughes - David Kennedy - Jeanne Kerr - Owen Lavin - Greg Lobser - Julie Majors Partner Organizations 6% Jessie Marie Photography - Sharon Menard - Cosima Reichenbach - Timothy Starr Earned Revenues 6% What are you grateful for? favorite trail, healthy Your forests, thriving wildlife? care take it is, help Whatever a Colorado it scheduling by of VOC to contribution Gives Day at www.voc.org by the 2019numbers Wilder: 8 Feet of Fur and Advocacy Expanding Access, Fostering Connections Lockheed Martin Thank you to the At least 70% of Coloradans in the San Luis Valley Continues a Legacy following companies Dear Friends: play outside, yet less than 1% for supporting This year, we celebrated VOC’s 35th anniversary! As we look back on another engage in outdoor stewardship. In July, volunteers built 550 feet of trail of Stewardship VOC through a To adequately care for the complete with a bridge, drainage structures, successful season, we are grateful to the thousands of people who make our Nearly 25% of VOC’s funding custom Corporate outdoors, we need to reach and a rock retaining wall. This wasn’t just any important stewardship work possible: the volunteers who spend their weekends comes through corporate beyond 1% in a big, bold way - a VOC weekend, however. For the locals of San Stewardship with on the trail, the organizations and land agencies with whom we partner, and our sponsors; many businesses way that only an eight-foot-tall Luis, this trail was special. a Team (SWAT) generous donors and funders. It takes a community to care for Colorado. volunteer, too. Others, like creature can accomplish. Nestled near Culebra Peak – one of Colorado’s Lockheed Martin, go above and volunteer project: As we wrap up 2019, however, we’re also looking forward. In one of our favorite only 14ers on private land – lies San Luis, the comic strips, Calvin offers to his best friend, Hobbes, a simple but poignant Over the years, we’ve had beyond to have a lasting, positive Adobe many conversations about state’s oldest town. It is a mere half-square mile observation: “You know what’s weird? Day by day nothing seems to change. But impact on the land. Ambient Energy the mounting issues facing and home to about 630 people, but San Luis pretty soon, everything’s different!” Indeed, even for VOC, things seem different Lockheed Martin has been a Anadarko Colorado’s outdoors. With whomever we have spoken – land manager, volunteer is rich in Hispano culture and heritage. Yet the than they were just a year ago! As we enter 2020, the urgency of our work feels major supporter of VOC since the Boeing organization, retailer – one thing was paramount: the need for a statewide campaign that area is also fraught with a long history of land heightened. We recognize how much Colorado has changed over the past five years, beginning, generously donating teaches people how to behave when playing outside. rights struggles. Today, more than 99% of the county is Bureau of Land particularly in urban areas. There are many indicators that our population, and our privately owned. each year since 1988. They’ve Management So, when Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) approached us to partner on their “Generation use of the outdoors, will continue to increase, leading to inevitable impacts on our also organized several corporate Eating Recovery Center Wild” campaign, it was a natural fit. Generation Wild had already inspired families to get Rito Seco Park is part of Costilla County’s efforts to Steve West volunteer projects with VOC, often natural resources and thus, on VOC’s work. Fastly outside and explore nature. Now, VOC would help make sure change that story. Developing the public park is a priority with The Mission Continues, a This past July, our Board and senior staff convened in Salida for our annual planning children and families knew how to care for it. for County Commissioners, and VOC was ready to help! veterans service organization. Great-West Financial retreat. We invited guests representing funders, land managers, stewardship With a grant from the San Luis Valley Conservation and Enter Wilder: “half-yeti, half-mountain goat, all friend”. GOCO JLL groups, and the outdoor industry to help us look at the future of stewardship in Connection Initiative (SLV CCI) and the guidance of local This year Lockheed Martin took their stewardship introduced him this summer to remind kids and kids-at-heart Lockheed Martin Colorado. Our goal was to create realistic scenarios of the future by understanding partners, we trained local area Crew Leaders and recruited commitment even further. On October 4th, 13 of the magic in nature. Now, under VOC’s leadership, this employees successfully completed Independent Marathon the “critical uncertainties” that will affect how VOC approaches our work in the Valley residents for the July project. gentle giant is traveling across the state as Colorado’s newest Stewardship for Trails Training through VOC’s Outdoor next decade. Two major uncertainties quickly rose to the top: climate change Monarch Investment spokescreature for stewardship. As one who calls the woods home, When the project weekend arrived, volunteers ranging from 17 to 85 years old – several Stewardship Institute (OSI). This training enables and Management and technology. In the former, we contemplated whether humans will respond Wilder is sharing his words of wisdom, “You are what you leave behind”. of whom were descendants of San Luis’ founding families – joined together to extend them to independently perform trail maintenance in Group proactively or reactively to the changing climate.