Catamount Institute

Today is World Mental Health Day and we want to remind everyone of the power of nature to be a wonderful resource for self-care. Research shows that mindfully connecting with nature produces a variety of health benefits. It promotes physical, mental and social wellbeing. Connecting with nature is proven to reduce stress and increase resiliency. Thanks to our friends Children & Nature Network for sharing this visual of 4 Ways to Practice Self-Care in Nature.

🌿 Learning comes alive outdoors! 🦉

Through our partnership with The Colorado Springs School District 11, Catamount Institute’s Outdoor Weekly Learning (OWL) program gives homeschool students an opportunity to step outside the traditional classroom and turn nature into a place for learning, discovery, and connection.

Each week at Sondermann Park, OWL students learn alongside passionate environmental educators through hands-on, standards-based experiences that build:

🌲 Outdoor skills and confidence
🔬 STEAM knowledge through real-world exploration
🤝 Friendships and collaboration
🦋 Curiosity and a deeper connection to nature

With small, mixed-age groups, changing themes, field trips, and plenty of time outdoors, OWL helps students explore, discover, and grow—all while having fun!

We’re grateful to District 11 for partnering with us to make meaningful outdoor learning opportunities available to homeschool families in Colorado Springs.

📍 Sondermann Park | Colorado Springs
🦉 K–2nd Grade & 6th–12th Grade | Thursdays

Because some of the best classrooms don’t have walls. 🌎💚

Special thanks to the 1,252 students from these 20 area schools and homeschool enrichment programs who have been on a Catamount Institute field trip this year! Our awesome team of environmental educators have delivered 2,923 hours of outdoor, hands-on environmental education so far for our field trip participants! Thanks to:
Encompass Heights Elementary
Midland Elementary
Canon Exploratory School
Springs Ranch Elementary
Broadmoor Elementary
New Summit Charter Academy
Woodmen Roberts Elementary
Pinello Elementary
Basecamp Homeschool Enrichment
Chinook Trail Elementary
The Colorado Springs School
Widefield Elementary School of the Arts
Swallows Charter Academy
Howbert Elementary
Sierra Vista Elementary
Will Rogers Elementary
The Sunshine House
Valley Christian Academy
Village High School
The Classical Academy - East Elementary
To schedule a Catamount Institute field trip at our Sondermann Park or Woodland Park locations, please visit our website: catamountinstitute.org

🌿 You’re Never Too Young for an Outdoor Adventure! 🐞🥾

Our Cubs program for ages 2–4 gives toddlers and their grown-ups the chance to explore, play, and discover nature together—100% outdoors!

Each 1.5-hour adventure is packed with sensory play, songs, hikes, crafts, scavenger hunts, science experiments, and hands-on discoveries of Colorado’s plants and animals. 🌲🐾🦋

Led by Catamount Institute’s experienced environmental educators, Cubs helps little explorers build curiosity, confidence, and a love of the outdoors from an early age.

💚 Big adventures start with little explorers. Visit catamountinstitute.org to learn when our next sessions in Colorado Springs and Woodland Park and starting.

🌲 Learning through service. Making a difference in our forests. 🔥

A big thank you to the 12 Colorado College students who recently spent a day volunteering at Catamount Institute’s Mountain Campus through CC’s BreakOut program! A special shout out to Nico Martinez for his leadership to bring the group together.

Students from a variety of majors and class years rolled up their sleeves to help with important wildfire mitigation work—clearing limbs, branches, and other forest debris from areas where trees had been trimmed or felled. Along the way, they learned why proactive forest management and wildfire mitigation are so important to creating healthier, more resilient forests and protecting our mountain communities.

BreakOut connects Colorado College students with community partners through hands-on service and learning beyond campus. We loved having these students put that mission into action on our 145-acre Mountain Campus.

Thank you, Colorado College BreakOut, for spending the day learning, serving, and helping us care for this special place! 🌲💪

Today is World Teacher's Day and here at Catamount Institute, our teachers are out of this world! Our small but mighty team of environmental educators work tirelessly every day to bring our mission to connect kids to the outdoors to life. Their collective passion, dedication and hard work impacts thousands of children from the Pikes Peak region annually. We are so grateful to them for helping to create the next generation of environmental stewards to care for our planet. Bravo! Shout out to our amazing educators:
Tom Schermerhorn, Director of Environmental Educator
Kayla Beltran, Environmental Education Program Coordinator
Beth Richards, Mountain Campus Programs & Operations Manager
Autumn McMullen, Lead Environmental Educator
Annalee Anderson, Environmental Educator
Isaiah Robye, Environmental Educator
Eric Meldrum, Environmental Educator
Hayley Burkett, Environmental Educator
Christian Broom, AmeriCorps Environmental Educator
Kate Wilson, AmeriCorps Environmental Educator
Addy Dunbar, AmeriCorps Environmental Educator

Join us for Catamount Campout: Fall Family Fun Edition on October 17 & 18 at our beautiful Mountain Campus in Woodland Park! Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast are included in the registration fee. Bring the family and enjoy the great outdoors. This one-night camping overnight will also offer a variety of activities for the whole family, including fishing, hiking, crafts, pumpkin painting and s'mores. Check out the QR Code for more information.

Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who came out for COSILoveYou Fall City Serve Day to help us at Catamount Institute. We had a wonderful group of volunteers, including a large contingent from Colorado Springs Utilities. They helped to transform our Sondermann Park office location by cleaning the area around the driveway, parking lot, and around our outdoor building area. The volunteers pruned trees and bushes, weeded a huge island in our parking lot, cleared out a ton of branches and debris, and planted a whole garden of Colorado wildflowers and native plants. All in a matter of a few hours! The place has never looked better, and we are grateful for their hard work and support!

Creek Week is here and our Catamount Institute Team was delighted to partner with our friends at Fountain Creek Watershed District today to help clean Mesa Creek at our beloved Sondermann Park. Our team collected a large amount of trash, including a massive tire! Catamount Institute is proud to be part of the largest watershed-wide clean-up in the state of Colorado!