How Colorado High School Students Are Building Leadership Through Outdoor Service

Colorado's Front Range Students Complete Their Final Project in Outdoor Stewardship Through VOC's Cairn Program

Community Service, Outdoor Leadership, and Environmental Stewardship Opportunities for Colorado Teens

For many Colorado high school students, finding meaningful opportunities can feel challenging. Students may be looking for opportunities for connection, leadership experience, outdoor adventure, or maybe even the chance to make a real impact.

That’s exactly what Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado’s (VOC) Cairn Program was designed to provide.

The Cairn Program is an 8-month outdoor leadership and environmental stewardship program for Front Range high school students that combines hands-on conservation work, leadership training, mentorship, and community building. Throughout the school year, students step outside of their normal social circles to work alongside peers who share a passion for the outdoors, service, and creating positive change in Colorado.

And this year’s Final Project proved just how impactful that experience can be.

Colorado Teens Leading Real Stewardship Projects

This year, 26 high school students and 10 volunteer mentors completed the Cairn Program by planning and leading their own stewardship project in partnership with Jefferson County Open Space. After a student voting process, participants selected a habitat restoration project focused on removing old fencing to improve wildlife movement and restore the landscape.

What made this project especially meaningful was that students didn’t just participate; they led each aspect of it.

Students stepped into leadership roles that included:

• Safety coordination
• Community engagement and recruitment
• Communications and outreach
• Technical planning
• Tool management
• Photography and storytelling
• Food coordination
• Crew leadership
• Event logistics and celebration planning

The Communication Team handled volunteer outreach and event check-in. The Safety Team conducted risk assessments and led the morning safety briefing. Crew leaders organized volunteers in the field while helping foster a supportive and positive team environment.

Months before the final project, students hoped to conduct a site visit alongside Jefferson County Open Space staff to see the landscape and the scope of work they would be dealing with. Unfortunately, the students had to remain flexible due to a snowstorm and instead took the opportunity to convene indoors and learn directly from the land managers about the goals and challenges of the project. They also participated in leadership development trainings focused on communication styles, decision-making, group dynamics, and inclusive leadership.

By the time project day arrived, students were ready.

A Successful Stewardship Project in Colorado

The final project exceeded expectations.

Students, mentors, friends, family members, Jefferson County volunteer crew leaders, and community supporters worked together to remove an impressive 5.5 miles of barbed wire strands across steep, rocky, brush-filled terrain. The project site posed one of the most physically demanding challenges many students faced during the program, yet the entire group rose to the occasion, safely and confidently.

Jefferson County volunteer crew leaders provided technical support throughout the day, helping students fully step into their leadership roles. Students led morning trust circles and icebreakers, coordinated tools and safety systems, documented the day with photography, and guided volunteers through the restoration work.

The project concluded with a graduation celebration recognizing the students’ accomplishments. Participants received certificates, commemorative hoodies, handwritten notes from peers and mentors, and special recognition for graduating seniors and student leaders.

Why Outdoor Programs for High School Students Matter

Programs like Cairn offer far more than volunteer or community service hours.

Students gain:

• Leadership experience
• Environmental stewardship skills
• Community service opportunities
• Mentorship and networking
• Teamwork and communication practice
• Confidence in outdoor settings
• Connection to Colorado’s landscapes and communities

For many students, the program becomes a stepping stone toward future careers, civic engagement, environmental advocacy, or lifelong volunteerism.

Equally important are the mentors and partners who make the experience possible. VOC’s volunteer mentors dedicate nearly a year to supporting students while intentionally creating space for them to lead independently. Partnerships with organizations like Jefferson County Open Space provide students with meaningful, real-world conservation experiences that connect classroom learning to tangible community impact.

Building the Next Generation of Colorado Stewards

For more than 40 years, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado has brought people together to care for Colorado’s outdoors. Through the Cairn Program, that legacy is being passed on to the next generation.

By leading projects like this one, students are not only improving Colorado’s public lands. They are learning how to lead, collaborate, solve problems, and inspire others to care for the places and communities around them.

A huge thank you goes to the Jefferson County Open Space staff, the volunteer mentors who guided students throughout the school year, the Jefferson County volunteer crew leaders, and volunteer photographer James Tsui for helping to make this project such a success.

Whether you’re a Colorado high school student looking for meaningful outdoor leadership opportunities, a parent searching for youth environmental programs, or an adult interested in mentoring the next generation of stewards, the Cairn Program offers a powerful way to get involved.

To learn more about the Cairn Program and to apply as a student or a mentor, visit voc.org/cairn-program

Photos by James Tsui.