FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 06/24/2015
Contact: Todd Cohen, o: 303.226.4530 c: 303-503-9068, tcohen@goco.org, or
Laura Cardon, 303-226-4531, lcardon@goco.org
Counties: Custer, Delta, Huerfano, Jefferson, La Plata, Larimer, and Weld.
Small projects, big impact: Colorado communities benefit from $300,000 in GOCO ‘mini-grants’
DENVER – Small projects that have big impacts help increase access to the outdoors for youth across the state by creating gardening plots in Jefferson County, improving ball fields on the Eastern Plains, and creating outdoor education opportunities on the Western Slope.
The latest round of “mini” grants, averaging $44,000 each, from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) were awarded Thursday to seven communities.
Grant details are:
CUSTER COUNTY: Westcliffe playground to become community hub for children of all ages
The Town of Westcliffe received $44,925 to upgrade Memorial Park Playground, which is approaching 20 years of use. The current playground is unsafe and lacks playground equipment for children under the age of five, an issue the project plans to address with new age-appropriate amenities for age groups as young as six months old.
DELTA COUNTY: Educational sign system to guide visitors and encourage active learning in Paonia
The Town of Paonia will be able to install an educational signage system in Paonia River Park thanks in part to $45,000 from GOCO. The new signs will not only help visitors to easily find their way to hiking, swimming, and fishing areas, but will also create environmental education learning opportunities for children visiting the park.
HUERFANO COUNTY: Vacant lot to be transformed into downtown hub for outdoor activity in Walsenburg
The City of Walsenburg received $44,000 from GOCO to help realize the vision of the downtown revitalization project currently underway. Miners Plaza will serve as a central hub for community gatherings and events and will provide residents and visitors with a walkable opportunity to get outside and enjoy downtown Walsenburg.
JEFFERSON COUNTY: New community garden to be installed at Evergreen school
Wilmot Elementary School in Evergreen will create 30 gardening lots and a nature-base play area with the help of a GOCO grant. The Evergreen Park and Recreation District (EPRD) partnered with Evergreen’s Alliance For Sustainability + You to bring nature a little closer to children and their families. The garden will be not only be used by the students, but will also be shared with EPRD’s special needs program and the nearly 800 children living within one mile of Wilmot.
LA PLATA COUNTY: Outdoor classroom to be constructed at Fort Lewis College vantage point
GOCO awarded $45,000 for the creation of an outdoor classroom in Durango. In a city where half of the population is students, the new classroom will benefit thousands with its proximity to Fort Lewis College, ability to accommodate large groups, and easily accessible location on the Rim Trail.
LARIMER COUNTY: Gravel lot will be transformed into multi-use park for Red Feather Lakes
The Red Feather Lakes Community Library partnered with Larimer County to turn an empty gravel lot into a much-need community park. GOCO awarded $43,930 for the new park, which will boast a natural playscape, educational gardens, new walkways with educational tracks, and comfortable seating for library patrons and families to connect with and enjoy the outdoors.
WELD COUNTY: Frederick Softball Field safety concerns alleviated with GOCO funds
A once valuable community asset, the Frederick Softball Field project has fallen into disrepair, but a GOCO grant of $43,989 will help the facility receive the upgrades it so desperately needs. Without outside funding, the fields would be closed until 2018, but will remain open for the youth and adult sports leagues that call the field home thanks to a new infield turf and irrigation, fencing, and lighting.
These grants support Governor John Hickenlooper's Colorado Beautiful initiative by identifying and filling critical gaps in connectivity for trails and open spaces, and GOCO’s new “Protect, Connect, Inspire” strategic plan, which focuses on land preservation, trails, and encouraging more youth to get outdoors.
GOCO is presently seeking applicants for its new Inspire Initiative, which offers between $1 million to $5 million in grants to selected communities to encourage kids to have more outdoor experiences. The program focuses on creating outdoor destinations like parks, improving access to outdoor location through new or improved trails, and expanding existing youth programs that introduce kids to the great outdoors. For more information on the initiative, visit goco.org/inspire.
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a Constitutional Amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 4,500 projects in urban and rural areas in all 64 counties without any tax dollar support. Visit goco.org for more information.