Pulliam Scholars Program

Teachers, please read through this information thoroughly, even if you are a veteran of these field trips.

First, thank you for participating in the Bobcat Ridge 4th grade field trip. We look forward to meeting you and your students. This page contains useful information about your field trip including what to expect during the field trip, what you need to bring, and how to get to Bobcat Ridge. If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Stafford at nicole.stafford@colostate.edu.

About Your Field Trip

Field Trip Instructors

Your instructors for the Bobcat Ridge portion of your field trip are CSU students that have been selected to be a part of the D.R. and Ginny Pulliam Scholars Program. Through this program, selected students take two courses on environmental education and leadership, teach your students at Bobcat Ridge, and mentor high school students through science projects. Your instructors have received  training on the lesson plan for the field trip and, throughout the year, receive instruction and practice in environmental education best practices, group management, age appropriateness, state standards, lesson planning, and more. We ask you to keep in mind that these students are growing as educators. Please take the time to fill out the evaluation form that was emailed to you by Larissa Clark. Thank you in advance for supporting this program and these future educators.

What You Will Do on Your Field Trip 

Upon arriving at Bobcat Ridge (morning group) or finishing lunch (afternoon group) at the picnic pavilion, you will be greeted by your instructors. As students who need to use the restroom (located in the parking lot) do so, one instructor will briefly talk to the teacher and chaperones about helpful roles they can take on during the field trip. Your students will split into their preassigned groups and an instructor will begin the field trip with each group. Your students will receive a Bobcat Ridge Scientific Journal and a clipboard. Throughout the trip, instructors will lead students through activities that will include recording responses and data.

While visiting Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, students will:

  • Observe at least one organism.
  • Identify structures and behaviors of at least one organism.
  • Hypothesize the functions of identified structures and behaviors.
  • Define adaptation.

How to Prepare For Your Field Trip

Directions to Bobcat Ridge Natural Area

Bobcat Ridge’s address is 10184 West County Road 32C, Loveland. From Loveland, go west on Highway 34 about 4.5 miles west of Wilson Avenue. Turn north on CR 27 by Big Thompson Elementary and drive 4.5 miles. Turn left on CR 32C and go 1 mile west to the Bobcat Ridge parking lot.

What to Bring

Please have students bring/wear the following:

  • a name tag
  • close-toed shoes
  • weather appropriate clothing
  • a sharpened pencil
  • a sack lunch
  • a full water bottle (there is no potable water at Bobcat Ridge)
  • a backpack
How to Prepare Your Students

Please split your students up into two groups. We will have two field instructors for each field trip session.

Explain to students that at Bobcat Ridge they will practice being field scientists. They will use observation, reasoning, and good note-taking skills to explore how the Cameron Peak fire affected the ecosystem.

How to Prepare Your Chaperones

Chaperones play an important role during the Bobcat Ridge field trip. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

We ask that chaperones help us keep students engaged and excited about what they are learning at Bobcat Ridge. This may include doing the following:

  • Supervising a group of students during a group activity
  • Encouraging curiosity by asking students questions about what they are learning
  • Acting as boundaries in activities or games
  • Helping the educator encourage/enforce respectful behavior
  • If they have a child on the field trip, encouraging them to stay in their peer group

Field Trip Schedule

You will spend half of your day at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area and half of your day at Big Thompson Elementary. Below is a schedule of your field trip day. You will need to know which location your class is going to first.

9:30 – Bus arrives at Big Thompson and drops off one half of the students
9:45 – Bus arrives at Bobcat Ridge with other half of students (instructors will meet you in the parking lot)
9:30 – 11:00 Morning Session at Big Thompson
9:45 – 11:15 Morning Session at Bobcat Ridge
11:00 – 11:15 Bus takes students from Big Thompson to Bobcat Ridge
11:15 – 12:00 Lunch for all students at Bobcat Ridge
12:00 – 12:15 Bus takes students from Bobcat Ridge to Big Thompson
12:00 – 1:30 Afternoon Session at Bobcat Ridge (instructors will meet you at the picnic pavilion where you ate lunch)
12:15 – 1:45 Afternoon Session at Big Thompson
1:30 – 1:45 Bus takes students from Bobcat Ridge to Big Thompson
2:00  Bus picks up students at Big Thompson and drives to home school
***Please note: We are on a very tight schedule. Please do your best to leave your school on time and please have your students ready to leave the picnic pavilion at 12:00***

Post-trip Activities

These activities help students summarize and make meaning of their findings.

Other Logistics

Please note that if there has been recent rain or snowmelt, Bobcat Ridge may close to all use. If this is the case, you will be notified by the school district that your field trip needs to be cancelled. In addition, if the forecast looks iffy for the day of your field trip, the district will be in contact with you and you will make a decision on whether or not to continue with the field trip. Our instructors are ready to teach in any weather (aside from lightning); we leave the decision to come or not up to you as you know your students better than we do.

Although some areas of Bobcat Ridge are wheelchair accessible, much of it is not. Please contact Nicole Stafford at nicole.stafford@colostate.edu ahead of time to discuss any special needs your group may have.

Your instructors will have most standard first aid supplies on hand, but please be sure to bring any medications your students need.

Learn more about Bobcat Ridge Natural Area.