In his book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder", child advocacy expert Richard Louv states "Our children are the first generation to be raised without meaningful contact with the natural world . . . " Louv goes on to link this lack of exposure to the natural world to the rise in childhood obesity, depression and Attention Deficit Disorder.

This general lack of exposure to the outdoor world combined with the fact that many students in Denver do not have productive after-school, weekend and school release day opportunities to develop character skills (courage, honesty, cooperation, dependability), an adequate fitness routine, or to experience Colorado's open spaces presented the Colorado Mountain Club's Youth Education Program (YEP!) with the perfect opportunity to develop an outdoor-oriented after school program.

On April 2nd, YEP!, partnering with Lake Middle School, conducted the first of 14 after school and weekend activities as part of their new Alpine Adventurers program (ALPINE stands for Afterschool Leadership Program: Identifying with our Natural Environment). This pilot program runs through May 7th and includes exciting activities such as the Science of Climbing combined with climbing practice on the CMC indoor climbing wall and an outdoor climbing area, mountain safety and wilderness survival skills, mountain weather, Geology Rocks!, map and compass skills, The Life of Water, among others.

The goals of the Alpine Adventurers after school program are to facilitate an understanding and respect for mountain environments; foster youth well-being through self-awareness, physical activity, & team-building; stimulate interest in academic topics (reading & writing, math, science, social studies, visual art) through mountain-related recreation; provide on-going and progressive outdoor leadership opportunities for interested youth in their neighborhood and open space locations; and provide trained adult mentors to create relationships with youth.

Future after school programs are currently in the planning stages.

To learn more about YEP! or find out about exciting youth-oriented summer classes, visit www.cmc.org/yep.