Balarat Outdoor Education

Outdoor Education for Denver Public Schools

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Igniting Curiosity and Confidence through Experiences in the Natural World.

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🌲 @denverpublicschools outdoor ed program
👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻 We teach 10,000 students annually
🏔 #getoutdoors

Things are warming up at Balarat, but we had some

Things are warming up at Balarat, but we had some cold weeks this year! We’re looking ahead to next winter and working to make sure our incoming 5th graders have access to warm gloves during their cold Balarat trips, so that they can engage fully in all of the experiential learning that happens on our site. Use the link in our bio to make a donation toward our project to buy waterproof gloves for our students! If you donate before April 14th, you can use code LIFTOFF at purchase and your donation to be matched! Thanks so much for your contribution to our whole-child education experience!

Another day another beautiful morning walk at Bala

Another day another beautiful morning walk at Balarat! Happy weekend! ☀️

#outdooreducation #denverpublicschools #sunrise #education #nature

A Morning Walk Poem ✨ I hear the leaves flying

A Morning Walk Poem ✨

I hear the leaves flying to the wind
I see the mountains staring into the sky
I smell the pine trees that are whispering
I feel the Lichen that is walking to their friends
I am grateful for nature

-Balarat 5th Grader

#outdooreducation #poetry #naturepoem #denverpublicschools #education

Clear nights at Balarat mean telescope time! 🔭🪐

#telescope #astronomy #outdooreducation #denverpublicschools

Bullseye! 🎯 #outdooreducation #denverpublicsc

Bullseye! 🎯

#outdooreducation #denverpublicschools #education #archery

We’ve had some cold and snowy days up at Balarat

We’ve had some cold and snowy days up at Balarat lately but our students have powered through and been rewarded with beautiful views and maybe even a hot biscuit or two at the Ranch House! ❄️

#outdooreducation #nature #education #denverpublicschools #history

We had our new High School Leaders up on site last

We had our new High School Leaders up on site last week to train them in all things Balarat!

Our High School Leader program gives DPS students the opportunity to expand their leadership skills and get outside while providing our fifth graders with near peer mentorship! A win-win all around!

❄️✨🎉✨☃️✨🏔️

Students last week got rewarded at the end of thei

Students last week got rewarded at the end of their 6 mile hike up Fairview with this gorgeous rainbow! Think they found the pot of gold? 🌈🍯

#outdooreducation #hiking #denverpublicschools #education

Morning walk appreciation post!! 🌅🌄 Every m

Morning walk appreciation post!! 🌅🌄

Every morning at Balarat, students get to start their day with a peaceful walk and spend some time watching the sun rise. It’s one of our favorite daily routines at Balarat!

#sunrise #morningroutine #outdooreducation #denverpublicschools

Special shoutout today for our weekly 3rd grade pr

Special shoutout today for our weekly 3rd grade program to Genesee Park and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science! While our 5th grade trips are the bulk of what we do at Balarat, our DPS 3rd graders can also get a special opportunity to head up to Genesee park for a day trip to see some wildlife, investigate nature, and take a beautiful hike!

#scienceducation #outdoored #outdooreducation #denverpublicschools

Time for another Fun Fact Friday: Tree Edition!

Time for another Fun Fact Friday: Tree Edition!

One of our favorite trees at Balarat and Colorado as a whole is the much loved Aspen tree. Known for its vibrant colors and fall foliage the Aspen tree is a Colorado hit! But there’s so much more going on below the surface (literally!) While it may seem like one stand , or cluster, of Aspen trees is full of many individual trees, a peek underground would show you that they’re all connected through one root system, making it one giant organism. They can even have the same genetic makeup!

Check out these pictures of some of our students enjoying the magic of one of our Balarat Aspen Groves.

Today commemorates the 4 year anniversary of the C

Today commemorates the 4 year anniversary of the Cal-Wood fire which ignited on property adjacent to Balarat. It burned more than 10,113 acres and 26 structures were lost or damaged before the fire reached 100% containment. Thankfully Balarat was located on the back burn of the fire and did not suffer catastrophic damage.

Now, four years later, Balarat students have the unique opportunity to investigate a forest that is recovering from the effects of a wildfire. Our students get to ask important questions about the impacts (both good and bad) that a wildfire can have on a forest ecosystem. Check out these “now and then” photos to see for yourself how the Balarat ecosystem has changed and grown since the fire.

Today is Indigenous Peoples day! Balarat exists on

Today is Indigenous Peoples day! Balarat exists on the ancestral homelands of the Hinóno’éí (Arapaho),Tsitsistas (Cheyenne), and Nuciu/Nuuchu (Ute) Nations, and Colorado encompasses the ancestral homelands of 48 tribes. Currently, the City and
County of Denver and the surrounding communities are home to descendants of approximately 100 tribal nations. Today is a day of reflection, recognition, celebration and education. Please join us in celebrating the First Nations peoples histories and cultures!

It's time for Fun Fact Friday! Here at Balarat, an

It's time for Fun Fact Friday! Here at Balarat, and all over Colorado, there are thousands of Ponderosa Pine trees. These trees are incredibly unique for the scent of butterscotch or vanilla that their sap produces. This scent comes from the chemicals in the bark called terpenes. When birds come to eat insects nesting in the Ponderosas bark, they alter the chemical composition of the terpenes making the Pine more resistant to parasites and plant-eating insects! So next time you are wandering the forests of Colorado, give them a smell!

The Fall Equinox is here! Here are some fun facts

The Fall Equinox is here! Here are some fun facts about the changing of the season. - You know Fall is here when the trees start to get ready for winter. As the days grow shorter there is not enough time for photosynthesis for trees to create the chemical (chlorophyll) that gives the leafs their green color. Hence the leafs turning a vibrant reddish yellow. -The word equinox comes from the Latin equi (meaning equal) and nox (meaning night) accounting for the equinox marking the time when day and night are of equal length. Get ready to break out the warm clothes and holiday decorations! How else do you get ready for Fall?

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Contact Us

Phone: (720) 424-2940

E-mail: balarat-staff@dpsk12.net

Office: CMS Community School, Room #206,
1300 South Lowell Blvd., Denver, CO 80219

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