Announcing the Winner of VOC's 2026 T-Shirt Design Contest: Lou Bean

Amidst a Sea of Creative Submissions, One Design Was Calling Out to the VOC Community

Every year, VOC’s t-shirt design contest gives our community the chance to creatively capture what stewardship, connection, and Colorado’s outdoors mean to them. This year’s contest brought in an incredible range of thoughtful, artistic, and inspiring submissions, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to design, create, and share their vision with us.

After much excitement and many votes, we’re thrilled to announce the winner of the 2026 VOC T-Shirt Design Contest: Lou Bean!

Lou’s design immediately resonated with our community, blending nostalgia, connection, and care for Colorado’s outdoors into a piece that feels distinctly VOC.

Inspired by vintage 90s outdoor outfitter shirts and the intergenerational relationships formed through stewardship, the design reflects the spirit of finding community through caring for the land.

The Inspiration Behind the Design

“My parents met working at an outdoor camp as counselors in the 90s, and the early foundations of their relationship and our family life were forged by experiences in the outdoors.

My design is inspired by the 90s Mountain Chalet outfitter tee shirts my dad always wore when we would explore together to celebrate the intergenerational connections that inspire us to care for the outdoors.”

One of the themes that stood out most as Lou shared about herself, her motivation, and her artwork was community — especially the way volunteerism brings people together across generations and backgrounds.

“One of my favorite aspects of VOC's mission is bringing people together to forge community around vital work to maintaining and restoring our natural and cultural resources. Making connections across generational boundaries is often difficult in our vacuums of school and work, but our volunteer work creates meaningful relationships between young and old to pass on necessary technical and social skills.”

From VOC Volunteer to Conservation Professional

Lou’s connection to VOC goes far beyond this year’s winning design.

Originally from Colorado, Lou now works across the state as a prescribed fire practitioner and habitat restoration technician. But getting into the conservation field wasn’t always straightforward.

“As a kid, I dreamed of working in the field doing research and restoration, but science and math didn't come easily to me despite my excitement. I had given up hope of working professionally in conservation when, one summer, I happened to hear that VOC was hosting a BioBlitz citizen science project in the San Luis Valley, where I lived.

Something clicked during the experience on that first project of following a protocol in a field setting, which made the concepts feel more accessible and tangible. This project, and the subsequent experiences volunteering with VOC after, were the catalyzing moments I needed to push me to apply to the conservation corps, where I started out my career.”

Even while working professionally in conservation, Lou continues to volunteer with VOC every summer in Southern Colorado.



“I love the relationships built over the course of a season and the familiar faces from year to year. And of course the amazing pistachio bread!”

A Deep Connection to Colorado

Lou describes herself as a fifth-generation Coloradoan with a deep appreciation for the ecosystems and communities that have shaped her life.

“Working in conservation means getting to sustain the systems that sustain our lives here. As a fifth-generation Coloradan, I feel deeply indebted to the land that has supported my family and community and push to do better than past generations.”

Her favorite volunteer projects reflect that connection to place.

“Some of my favorite VOC projects have been the Poncha Pass Gunnison Sage Grouse and Southern Plains Land Trust low-tech process-based restoration rock work projects... It means so much to me to see people make the trek out to move huge rocks and care for two places that mean so much to me.”

And while Colorado’s mountains often steal the spotlight, Lou hopes people learn to appreciate another landscape she loves deeply:

“I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite place in Colorado, but I hold a deep appreciation for our grasslands. While the mountains demand attention, one square foot of grassland holds more biodiversity than one square mile of the alpine for the patient and careful viewer.”

Finding Your People and Your Purpose