Field Institute of Taos

Field Institute of Taos was founded in 1996 with the mission of providing hands-on, nature-based outdoor experiences, promoting connection and healthy, active lifestyles and focusing on adventure, natural sciences, community, and culture. For almost 30 years, FIT has facilitated outdoor learning for children in Taos County and beyond! We help grow strong, resilient young people with a love of nature, confidence in themselves, and the leadership abilities to become the future stewards of the mountains and rivers that we play in each year. Our outdoor education programs are now entering their 29th year and we are working to grow that mission and vision. The goal of FIT is to touch the lives of every student and child in Taos by increasing our offerings and impact, with particular focus on increasing service for students and families for whom outdoor equity continues to be out of reach due to financial, awareness, and/or transportation barriers. We strive to reach low-income youth as well as others who have been historically underserved in our community, including Native American families, Students of color, and those who speak a home or cultural language other than English. Over the past year and a half, we have built our core team from 2 to 5 full-time employees. Throughout 2024, this small but mighty crew and our seasonal staff have continued to build programming and partnerships through our FIT summer day camps, adventure/backpacking trips, bike programs, community events, and engagement with area schools through on-campus sessions and field trips, as well as after-school programs. FIT’s Base Camp facility provides a jumping-off point for adventure and a community learning space for our work. In addition, FIT Neighborhood Camp at the Quail Ridge provides active learning and fun for kids each summer, while our completely free Nature Explore sessions at Rio Fernando Park provide equitable outdoor education opportunities for Taos youth. Last year, FITaos offered five weeks of free programming and gave over $30,000 in scholarships to campers in need; this robust scholarship program ensures that every family who needs support receives it. We are proud of our partnerships with area schools, including our Building Bikes, Building Futures program and our outdoor leadership initiatives at Taos Pueblo Day School. Finally, we are celebrating our designation as a Snow School and look forward to year-round programming that includes snowshoeing, snow study, and watershed ecology. We are proud of this strong foundation as well as the deep longevity of FITaos – as we move into the next phase of our organization, we are working to become an anchor point in our diverse community for building awareness, knowledge, skills, confidence, and engagement with the outdoors, not only for campers and students, but for teachers and families as well. We hope to use our Base Camp facility as a training ground for adult professionals as well as an additional accessible safe space to experience the nature and beauty of Taos. This expansion of our role in the community serves as the basis for this grant application.