30th Anniversary | Winter Events | Young Stewards | Community Events | Ways to Support
HAPPY NEW YEAR
We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and happy New Year! 2025 is a big year for Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers as we celebrate our 30th Anniversary! We're excited to commemorate our lasting legacy on the public lands we all cherish and honor the many individuals who helped get us to where we are today. Stay tuned for exciting events, activities, and updates throughout the year.
5 BENEFITS OF
VOLUNTEERING OUTDOORS
Speaking of the new year, do you have a New Year's resolution? We hope you will add volunteering with RFOV to your list this year! The health and wellbeing benefits of outdoor volunteering are well documented:
Decreased stress
Positive impacts on physical and mental health
Increased oxytocin levels(the happy hormone)
Healing properties
Connection with your local community and popular trails
Want to read more about the benefits of volunteering outdoors? Check out these articles:
30TH ANNIVERSARY
HISTORY NUGGET
Happy January! This month, we are going all the way back to 1995, the very start of RFOV. Did you know that during RFOV's very first year, we completed 4 volunteer projects? Volunteers helped complete work on the Ruedi Trail in Basalt, The Scout/Lookout Trail in Glenwood Springs, and Hunter Creek Trail and Crater Lake Campsite in Aspen.
This year, for RFOV's 30th season, we are aiming to have around 23 community projects open to the general public from May through October, with several commemorative projects at the same locations as our first several years.
YOUNG STEWARDS
Last month our Youth In Nature students received their Wilderness First Aid Certification (WFA) through Desert Mountain Medicine. With this knowledge, students can now recreate outdoors more confidently and help those in need!
The Youth In Nature 2025/26 applications open this month! If you know a 9th-12th grader who loves to spend time outdoors and is excited to connect with other students and outdoor professionals around the Roaring Fork Valley, encourage them to apply. Applications are open NOW through April 4.
WINTER EVENTS
Do you miss RFOV as much as we miss you? Well, you are in luck! We have two upcoming events this off-season that we would love to see you at.
Join us for the 4th annual RFOV Trivia night! Teams can have up to 6 people. How much do you know about RFOV, local trails, and Colorado landscapes?
Date: Wednesday, February 5
Location: Honey Butter Diner in Carbondale
Time: 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Join us as experts from Coalitions & Collaboratives share relevant and engaging information about fire mitigation. This is a classroom-based program that will connect you with applicable resources.
Date: Saturday, March 8
Location: 3rd Street Center in Carbondale
Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
VALLEY HAPPENINGS
2025 Water & Fire Speaker Series
Join Middle Colorado Watershed Council this February, March, and April for a three part speaker series about issues affecting our watershed, specifically focused on protecting against fire and managing water. This will be a ticketed event and specific dates are TBD.
Guest speakers will include Zak Podmore, an Utah-based journalist and author, Jackson Emmer, an award-winning singer and songwriter, Maria Foley, a CSU Extension Specialist, R.A. Burrell, Native Seed Collector of the Year with the Colorado native Plant Society, Scott Jensen — PhD and Senior Environmental Scientist, and Attorney Erika Gibson.
WAYS TO SUPPORT
THE ASPEN PLEDGE
Simply by signing the Aspen Pledge, the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) will make a donation on your behalf to Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers.
Go to citymarketrewards.com
Login or create an account
When asked to "Link your card", choose "Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteer" from the list of organizations
