Learning in Our Watershed - Field Trip Grant Program

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Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Are

Learning in Our Watershed - Field Trip Grant Program

CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA OVERVIEW

WHAT? The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area in Northern Colorado, with the generous support of the National Heritage Area Program, is offering the opportunity to enrich and extend classroom learning for Weld or Larimer Counties’ K -12th grade students by providing reimbursement for transportation costs associated with field trips to destinations in the Cache la Poudre River Watershed.

Poudre Heritage Area:

• Located in north-central Colorado and includes about 44 miles of the floodplain of the Cache la Poudre River
• Established in 1996, it was the first national heritage area in the western United States
• Designated to commemorate the history of water law and water development in the Rocky Mountain West
• Legislation focuses on interpretation and education – neither historic preservation nor economic development were driving forces behind the implementation of the law
• Neither the federal government nor the Corridor Commission may own any of the land or water rights within the designated Corridor

WHERE? The Poudre Heritage Area stretches for forty-four miles along the lower reaches of the Cache la Poudre River.  The Heritage Area begins west of Fort Collins, Colorado, up the rugged Poudre Canyon along the eastern boundary of the Roosevelt National Forest and stretches forty-four miles downstream to where the Poudre River empties into the South Platte River east of Greeley. 

CONTACT:
PHA Headquarters at the Poudre Learning Center
8313 West F Street, Greeley, Colorado 80631
Open daily 7:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.
Call (970) 352-1267 to schedule a field trip

WHEN? Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area: Learning in Our Watershed Field Trip Grant Program funds may be requested for Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer terms.  Funds will be paid directly to the school or district following completion of the field trip.

WHY? Field trips will extend learning activities encompassed in the following Colorado State Standards:

• Science
• Civics /Government
• Colorado history
• United States History

Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area: Learning in Our Watershed Field Trip Grant Program
Grants are now available to help pay for field trips!

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? All K-12 schools that are located in Weld or Larimer Counties qualify to submit an application to the PHA: Learning in Our Watershed Field Trip Grant Program.

DESTINATIONS: The educational value of pre-approved field trip destinations (see below) has been documented by other teachers and the professional education staff at the destinations.  Other destinations will be considered.  We encourage you to think creatively about destinations and apply for one that makes sense for you and your students.
The following field trip Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area destinations and events are pre-approved for the field trip grant program

• Greeley # 3 Ditch Headgate & Parshall Flume Site
• Water Resources Archive
• Ft. Collins Museum & Discovery Science
• Children’s Water Festival in Greeley
• Children’s Water Festival in Fort Collins
• Old Nunn Municipal Hall
• High Plains Environmental Center
• Poudre Learning Center
• Von Trotha-Firestien Farm at Bracewell
• Kaplan-Hoover Bison Bone Bed
• GETWET Observatory & Science Park
• 1882-83 Historic Ft. Collins Water Works
• Environmental Learning Center
• Discovery Center
• Poudre Learning Center
• Centennial Village
• Plumb Farm
• Greeley Museum
• Windsor Museum
• Windsor Lake

Other destinations may be approved on a case-by-case basis. The list above is not intended to discourage you from considering other destinations, from visiting natural areas or events for learning activities that you plan yourself.  Rather, it is intended to speed approval for destinations whose educational value has already been demonstrated by other teachers and/or by the professional education staff at the destination.  The key criterion is the educational value of the field trip, not the particular destination.

Recreational field trips are not funded, even if they occur at one of the listed locations.

We encourage field trips which develop an understanding of place, the natural and human resources that we use and conserve. We encourage the study of water law history and water development.  We do not fund recreational and athletic field trips. If you need assistance in "selling" your field trip to administration, parents or other funders, please consult the attached The Value of Field Trips page.

ALLOWABLE EXPENSES:

1. Grants are matching funds which means that your school will need to have a minimum of half the funds to support the field trip transportation.  The remaining half can be requested from the PHA Learning In Our Watershed Program.
2. Grants will only pay for bus transportation via district or school buses, or via private bus companies;
3. Grant cannot pay for private automobile costs, entrance fees, learning materials and food.
4. Reasonable substitute teacher and/or field excursion assistant costs may be considered for funding.

APPLICATION:
Apply now!  Submit the online application form, or email, mail, or fax the application form in Word format.  Applications are open throughout the year until the grant funds are exhausted. Please fill out the online application form to start the process.  Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
If your field trip is to a pre-approved destination (see list below), you will select that destination on the application. If your field trip destination is not on the pre-approved list, you will be asked to provide additional information about the educational value of the field trip.  We encourage you to contact us ahead of time so that we can tell you exactly what needs to be provided.
We are not responsible for any circumstance beyond our immediate control, and difficulties on the part of yourself, your school, or your Internet service provider will not be considered.

SELECTION: Grant recipients are selected on criteria established by PHA with the assistance of the funding partners. The criteria will include:

• consideration of the history of water law and water development goals of PHA and its funding partners
• a focus on K-12 students and their classrooms
• qualifying match from the school, district or other supporter(s)
• date of application
• a pre-approved destination, or documentation of the educational value of the proposed destination
• funds available in each grant cycle

AWARD: The grant will be awarded based on your best estimate of expenses. The grant award will contract with your district. We do not send you a check, but instead pay invoices submitted after the field trip.

We accept only official invoices or sales receipts showing actual costs.  We prefer that you or your school support staff collect and forward on to us the paperwork, since in all cases the grant award will pay only part of the actual costs and you or the school will be covering the remainder.  Scan the paperwork into a pdf document that can be emailed, or send paper copies, not originals.  Payment will be made within 30 days of receipt. Payment can be made to you, a school fund, or the district.

For more information on the program, please contact Ray Tschillard, RTschillard@PLCoutdoors.org, and 970-356-1267.