Time in nature can be essential for optimal mental and physical well-being. But for the teenage youth and young adults taking part in Lincoln Hills Cares’ and TEENS, Inc.’s environmental stewardship collaboration in Colorado, it is also about helping others.
TeamWorks, their collaborative entity, is a summer-intensive service learning program that offers youth and young adults ages 16 to 20 from the Front Range communities and Denver metro area the opportunity to explore the great outdoors. But, most importantly, through the program, students acquire communication and collaboration, critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills. The program also focuses on leadership development and conservation. Ahead, we dive more into Lincoln Hills Cares, TEENS, Inc. and the TeamWorks program.
Lincoln Hills Cares
Lincoln Hills Cares works to provide equitable access to the outdoors and brings cultural history exploration, workforce advancement, recreation initiatives and outdoor and environmental education to youth leaders. The organization centers its values around nature, community, equity, education and respect.
The History of Lincoln Hills
Lincoln Hills, founded in 1922, was built as a designated vacation locale for Black Americans during times of legalized racial separation. The resort community development in Coal Creek Canyon was forged by the Lincoln Hills Development Company founders Edwin C. Regnier and Robert E. Ewalt. Lincoln Hills also featured Camp Nizhoni, a YMCA camp for Black American girls, and Winks Lodge, deemed part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
TEENS, Inc.
TEENS, Inc., founded in 1997 and located in Nederland, Colorado, hosts dynamic youth-centered programs with the mission to support, educate and empower youth and their families. It boasts the core values of honesty and integrity, youth voices, belief in possibilities and relationships.
The TeamWorks Program
TeamWorks allows program participants from rural and urban areas, such as Nederland, Colorado, and Denver to connect, embrace differences and partake in tasks associated with local history, land management, civic engagement and environmental conservation.
Core tenets of TeamWorks programming and planning, include:
- Professionalism
- Healthy Risk Taking
- Collaboration
- Inclusion
- Environmental Stewardship
- Leadership
The paid work-study program prepares individuals for careers, helps them nurture much-needed life skills and introduces them to positive role models. It is a supportive environment that fosters work ethic, responsibility and much more. Participants are paid for their work, and many have been involved in the program several years to continue developing leadership and professional skills.
“You really take all the information that you gain through this whole process and get to use it in your everyday life,” said TeamWorks Program alumni, Luis Cotto.
Most TeamWorks-centered projects are dedicated to nature conservation and community, including managing fire mitigation with Boulder County Wildfire Partners, constructing new trails and habitat restoration.
“I’m looking forward to more cool and different projects,” said Allison Ohringer, TeamWorks Program Manager. “One of my favorite projects we ever did was a couple of years ago working on the trail system that they’re building on the Tolland property and Eldora; it’s going to be over 300 miles of trails.”
High school graduates who have completed the program and shown exceptional performance inside and outside the classroom are eligible for a post-secondary education scholarship.
TeamWorks partners with numerous organizations across Colorado, including the United States Forest Service, Audubon Society, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Rocky Mountain National Park and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers.
Robert F. Smith and Lincoln Hills
Dealmaker, entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, is the co-founder of Lincoln Hills Cares alongside Matthew Burkett. Smith, who grew up in Colorado and was introduced to the Colorado wilderness as a child. He works to promote and protect the environment and make the outdoors inclusive and within reach of those who often lack the opportunities to access it.
Read more about Smith’s founding of Lincoln Hills Cares.
