Lafayette lands $371K grant to support outdoor youth activities

LAFAYETTE – The Great Outdoors Colorado board has awarded $371,000 to the city of Lafayette and the Nature Kids/Jóvenes de la Naturaleza (NKJN) for the group’s mission to provide youth and families in Lafayette with greater access to nature and the outdoors. 

The funding is part of GOCO’s Generation Wild program, which launched in 2015 to help urban, suburban and rural communities introduce kids and families to new outdoor experiences and inspire them to get outside more often for their health and happiness.

With Lafayette support, NKJN provides Lafayette youths and families with environmental education and outdoor recreation. The new funding will allow the community to focus on family engagement, expand its youth pathways program and provide foundational support to partners and families. 

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NKJN partners will expand weekly bilingual family programming and deepen leadership and professional development opportunities for youths by expanding its internship program.

“The success of NKJN programs is reliant on our ability to build deep relationships with the community. This funding will allow us to expand new opportunities in direct response to community requests while also continuing to meet the core needs of Lafayette’s youth and families,” Rachel Brett, director of community partnerships at Thorne Nature Experience, said in a written statement. 

Led by Thorne Nature Experience, NKJN’s 39 partner organizations serve preschool to high school-aged youths with classroom, afterschool, field trip and summer experiences ranging from summer camps to family programs. The community focuses on serving youths who attend Boulder Valley School District schools including Sanchez, Pioneer and Ryan elementary schools; Angevine Middle School; and Centaurus High School. 

“Working closely with families every day, and living in this community myself, it’s been amazing to see the impact that NKJN has had on families’ ability to connect not just with nature but also with one another and the community as a whole,” said Gabriela Monge-Escalante, NKJN’s community engagement coordinator. 

This new funding brings the total GOCO investment in NKJN to $4.2 million. Signature projects include the nature play area at Sanchez Elementary and a two-mile “Inspire Trail,” providing easy access points to open space for neighborhoods that had previously been disconnected.  

Statewide, GOCO has invested $51.8 million in Generation Wild programs, making Colorado a national leader in equitable outdoor access and the youth-and-outdoors movement. Collectively, more than 470 organizations, including local governments, schools, health-based organizations, and youth-serving nonprofits have reached 270,068 participants; run 7,649 programs; and created 3,313 pathways to outdoor careers, including jobs, internships, and leadership development opportunities.

Great Outdoors Colorado secures funding from lottery proceeds.