FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2026
Contact: Kathryn Venzor
Email: [email protected] 
Phone: (720) 636-5186 (Cell)
Website: www.caee.org

Rooting Together: 50+ Organizations Launch 2nd Annual Statewide Campaign to Support Outdoor Learning

Colorado — This June, Coloradans are invited to help a statewide movement flourish during the 2nd Annual Give Outdoor Learning Campaign. During this month-long fundraiser, Coloradans can choose from over 50 local nonprofits dedicated to connecting Colorado’s youth, families, and communities with nature, supporting the places and learners they care about most.  

Running June 1–30, the campaign centers on "Rooting Together," showing that every donation is a powerful expression of how much Colorado cares about ensuring kids can learn about the world around them.  By supporting this diverse network of environmental and outdoor learning organizations, donors, like YOU, are directly investing in the future of and the resilience of Colorado’s young people.

“We’re at a moment when how young people learn matters as much as what they learn,” said Katie Navin, Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. “Environmental and outdoor learning strengthens how students think, engage, and succeed in school. It builds the problem-solving, collaboration, and resilience they’ll need for the future. When we invest in these experiences today, we’re preparing young people to navigate a complex world and shape a stronger future for Colorado.” 

Rooting Together for a Sustainable Future

The Give Outdoor Learning Campaign supports a wide range of hands-on experiences, from urban community gardens and schoolyard habitats to mountain wilderness expeditions and local climate action projects. This year, the focus is on the long-term impact on Colorado’s youth:

• Empowering the Next Generation: Outdoor learning provides the "soil" for growth, fostering the confidence, curiosity, and mental well-being youth need to thrive.
• Strengthening Community Resilience: By connecting people to their local environments, these programs build a statewide network of changemakers ready to protect Colorado’s natural resources.
• Diverse Perspectives, Common Roots: The campaign highlights that while every organization is unique, they all share common roots in the belief that environmental and outdoor learning is essential for everyone.

Why Your Support Matters

• Outdoor Learning Grows Healthy Minds: It is a proven tool for supporting mental health and fostering deep, meaningful connections to the self and the world.
• Outdoor Learning Benefits Today: When young people learn outdoors, they build calm, confidence, and critical thinking skills they can use right now—in school, in their communities, and in their everyday lives. 
• Collective Impact: A gift to one organization still fuels something bigger. Through this campaign, each nonprofit is part of a connected network, sharing resources, ideas, and opportunities, so your donation helps strengthen not just one program, but a statewide ecosystem of outdoor learning. 

How to Get Involved

1. Donate: Visit www.caee.org/giveoutdoorlearning to explore more than 50 participating organizations and choose where you want to help the community grow.
2. Share: Spread the word using #GiveOutdoorLearning and #GiveWhereItGrows to help our message take root in your own network.
3. Celebrate: Spend time in nature this June. Visit a local nature center, explore a trail, or learn about the natural systems in your own backyard.

This June, join the movement. Support the spark. Give Where It Grows.

For media inquiries, interviews, or to feature a specific participating organization, please contact: 

Kathryn Venzor
CAEE Board President
Senior Director of Education and Visitor Engagement, CSU Spur
[email protected] | (720) 636-5186 (Cell)

Reporters: Find our digital media kit, including high-resolution photos of outdoor learning in action and a list of local interview contacts.

About the Give Outdoor Learning Campaign:  Give Outdoor Learning is a collaborative, month-long fundraising campaign in June uniting over 50 Colorado-based outdoor and environmental learning organizations. The campaign invites Coloradans to “Give Where It Grows”— supporting the people, places, and programs that help youth and communities thrive through hands-on learning in nature.

About the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education: Environmental and outdoor education experiences are like charging stations that power up learning and enhance skills that will help Coloradans care for our world and sustain it for future generations. For over 30 years, the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education has been supporting the network of over 850 educators in classrooms, nonprofits, nature centers, government agencies, higher education, businesses, and more who build these experiences with opportunities for professional development, generating and sharing new ideas, and community support.  Together, we are wiring up an extensive circuitry of rich contexts and collaborators in environmental and outdoor learning that support ALL schools, families, and communities across Colorado. To learn more about the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education visit www.caee.org.