For 30 years, the Yampatika Outdoor Awareness Association has been committed to geographically relevant, place-based education.
What does “Yampatika” mean? “Yampatika” or “yamparika” refers to the name given to a band of White River Utes who would forage and feast on the Yampa root along the streams and rivers of Northwest Colorado during their summer hunting season. “Tika” or “rika” in the Uto-Aztecan dialects means “to eat.” So, “Yampatika” means “Yampa-root-eaters.” Yampatika is the only 501(c)3 nonprofit organization specializing in outdoor and science education for all ages in Northwest Colorado. Yampatika’s mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through education by hosting free or low-cost adult, family, camp, and in-school science and nature programs.
In the 2021-2022 school year, Yampatika facilitated more learning experiences with Rio Blanco County students than ever before. The following examples are just a few Yampatika school programs that took place in Rio Blanco County last school year and do not represent an exhaustive list. Meeker eighth graders participated in a drought community resiliency simulation. Meeker kindergarteners discovered how clouds can help predict future weather. Rangely Senior High ag students learned about prior appropriation and Colorado water rights. Parkview Elementary fifth graders learned about water conversation. Yampatika strives to build lasting relationships with local community experts to partner on experiential learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom.
A Meeker Elementary third grade teacher stated, “Yampatika provides wonderful, engaging, hands-on programs for students. Their contacts allowed third graders from Meeker Elementary School to have a field trip in a location that we never would have known about. Since the field trip cost us nothing other than the bus expenses it is a wonderful resource for cash-strapped schools. Thank you Yampatika for a great field trip!”
Yampatika has expanded its programming into the White River Basin through funding from the Yampa-White-Green (YWG) Basin Roundtable (BRT) to offer area-wide water education. The YWG BRT is one of nine water policy roundtables in Colorado developing locally driven, collaborative solutions to water supply challenges. This grant allowed Yampatika to hire a full-time water education coordinator to bring water-focused education to K-12 students across Rio Blanco, Moffatt, and Routt Counties. In the 2021-22 school year, about 25% of all students in the Yampa-White-Green Basin received water education, that’s more than 1,700 students receiving at least one lesson about their basin’s water.
Parents and community members, if Yampatika’s programming interests you, visit yampatika.org to learn more. Educators interested in scheduling a Yampatika school program can fill out a request form under the School Programs tab or call 970-871-9151.
