School Nature Trail:
Creating Equitable Connections
The School Nature Trail (SNT) was envisioned and developed in 1998 by Emery Ashby, a La Veta High School science teacher, with his students and community volunteers. He created this “outdoor laboratory” to teach environmental education to students, residents, and visitors to Huerfano County. The SNT consists of a one-quarter mile self-guided trail with four kiosk signs that describe 100+ years of La Veta history and 27 interpretative signs that showcase plants common to a prairie ecosystem. In 2007, the SNT lost its champion when Mr. Ashby passed away. In 2015, La Veta Trails (LVT) adopted the SNT with the approval of the Town Board of Trustees, which owns the three-acre property, and the La Veta School RE-2, which maintained the trail and used it as envisioned by Mr. Ashby. From 2016-to 2017, LVT restored the trail, footbridges, kiosk, and interpretative signs, serving as an outdoor environmental classroom for the next generation.
In 2022, LVT will launch a transformational project to expand the number of people who experience the SNT by building on its roots as an outdoor laboratory. Using the SNT as an outdoor laboratory, LVT will work with community members from around Huerfano County to explore, develop, and implement strategies to eliminate physical and information barriers to equity. Our long-term goal is to increase access and cultivate equitable connections to ensure that all people can experience parks, trails, and outdoor recreational amenities and feel welcome in the places that belong to us all. We will explore the following:
Creating Equitable Connections
Website
We will explore ways to engage outdoor recreational users more meaningfully. We want to be more accessible and inclusive in talking about parks, trails, and recreational amenities.
Accessible Information
We will improve the descriptive information we provide so outdoor recreational users with disabilities can make informed decisions about using a trail. We will explore different methods to assess and rate the SNT, for example, and use what we learn to publish digital and paper trail guides and audio versions of signs.
Inclusive Information
We will explore how to make signs, guides, and maps bilingual in a way that honors and celebrates the different cultures that established and live in Huerfano County. We will start with the interpretative signs on the School Nature Trail. We will explore the use of QR codes, for example, that will link to the LVT website to provide a culturally relevant translation from current English to Spanish and Native languages. The display kiosk also offers an opportunity to provide information in more than one language.
Data Collection
We will explore Photovoice as a method for outdoor recreational users to share their experiences, needs, perspectives, and feedback about parks, open spaces, and trails. We will explore how we can use Photovoice to evaluate trail usage. Again, we will use the SNT as a laboratory to learn how to use this powerful resource.