VOC's Cairn Youth Program guides and challenges high school students to become caretakers of Colorado's extraordinary natural resources.

Alli Gunther is currently in her second year with Cairn. According to Alli, she was never outdoorsy growing up, and it wasn't until she started reading books by Edward Abbey (an author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues) at the age of 15 that she became interested in the outdoors. 

"That summer, I googled something along the lines of 'Colorado environmental internship', and that's how I learned about Cairn. I applied, and the rest is history," said Alli.

Before Cairn, Alli liked to romanticize the notion of how trails were constructed. She admitted she initially thought they were created naturally, with thousands of footsteps coming together to create a path. "So, Cairn taught me all about how trails are actually built and how to make them. I think Cairn has given me a lot of appreciation for the people who construct trails," said Alli. She spent last summer working for the Larimer County Conservation Corps, where she expanded her trail knowledge, and was recently nominated as Colorado Youth Corps Association's Corpsmember of the Year. She plans to someday pursue a career in natural resources, and admits she doesn't think she would've ended up on that path if she hadn't found Cairn.

"I really enjoy being able to visit and explore new areas around Denver. It's also pretty cool to meet people through the program that I never would've met otherwise," Alli added.

Outside of Cairn, Alli enjoys reading and hiking as often as possible. She is currently a senior at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins.