The Balarat program continues to give DPS students the opportunity to visit the beautiful mountains of Colorado after 50 years of operation. photo courtesy of Balarat Outdoor Education
This semester I participated in Denver Public Schools’ Balarat Outdoor Education program as a high school leader and it was one of the most rewarding extracurricular activities I have ever pursued.
As a high schooler, I, like many of my classmates, have started to think about taking on more extracurricular activities in order to prove my well-roundedness as a student to potential colleges. In doing so, I applied to be a Balarat student leader and I am so glad that I did. Outside of being an incredible leadership and additional credit opportunity, being a Balarat counselor was fun and a great experience that I hope to continue.
Balarat Outdoor Education was established 50 years ago and the program allows DPS fifth grade classes the opportunity to stay overnight in the mountains at the campus just outside of Jamestown, Colorado. The program has been altered over time with details like the length of each trip, activities, and the Balarat teachers changing, however, as of the 2024-2025 academic year, fifth grade classes in DPS stay overnight at the campus for two half-days and one night. During their trip, each class has two unique activities scheduled as well as various hikes and two meals. The Balarat website states that their mission is, “igniting curiosity and confidence through experiences in the natural world” and the purpose of Balarat is to give children who may not otherwise have it, the opportunity to get away from the city and visit the mountains of Colorado.
I helped lead three Balarat trips for three different classes this semester and each trip follows roughly the same schedule. My team of two other TJ students and I got picked up in a school bus around eight in the morning and each time we met the fifth grade class at their school, helped them to load their bags, and drove with them up to the Balarat grounds. During each bus ride up, me and my teammates led the “bus program” where the students worked to identify and cross off landmarks from a list while they answered questions about the importance and purpose of each item. Once we arrived with our class, we hiked with them to their first day activity and had them identify and sketch some unique aspects of nature on the way. The activities that the teachers chose from for their classes to do at Balarat are: a six mile challenge hike, western history, mining history, orienteering, a low ropes course, a high ropes course, the big swing, the zipline, or archery. After eating lunch and our activity, the kids settled into the cabins and we ate dinner. Later on, we helped take the kids on their night walk and then their classroom teacher took them to bed and the high school leaders all had free time until about 10:30.
Each morning we would wake up with the students at 6:30 and take them on a morning walk before packing up the cabins, eating breakfast, and packing lunch. We then walked with the students to their activity for the second day and we all ate lunch once their activity was over. Then, we walked to the busses and drove back to Denver. We dropped the fifth graders off at their school and got them all their bags off of the bus but then we headed back to TJ and we were usually headed home by around three on the second day.
On my Balarat trips this semester I led kids on several activities including orienteering and using a map and compass to find landmarks, panning for gold in the creek and using single mining jacks as a part of mining history, and managing the harnessing and pulley systems for the big swing. Although all of these activities are really fun and allow me to learn and explore the mountains of Colorado just as much as the students, my favorite part of being a counselor this semester was connecting with the fifth graders and becoming a leader and role model for them. All of the students I met were so friendly and they were what made each of my trips so memorable and unique.
Being a Balarat leader is such a unique experience that I am so glad I decided to pursue. The staff is so friendly and supportive and the campus is gorgeous. I love that it allowed me to spend time in the mountains, meet new people, try new things, and learn new things about the state I grew up in and the nature that surrounds me. Balarat is a wonderful program and it has proven to be a positive and beneficial experience for me and the students that joined me on my trips.
