Photo by Terry Georgia
Bri Wold, co-founder of Rugged Research, shows a group of students the antlers from an elk as part of a wilderness class in Larimer County.

By Terry Georgia
The Surveyor

At a scenic trailhead in the mountains of Larimer County, a group of children stare wide-eyed as former park ranger Bri Wold shows them a small, oblong skull, its pointed teeth bleached white. “What animal do you think this was?” asks Wold, encouraging them to come closer and touch the bone. “Was it a dog?” asks one girl, hesitating to feel the skull, but clearly curious. “It’s a coyote!” offers one of the boys. “A skunk!” guesses another.

“You’re all so close,” encourages Wold, “think a little smaller than a coyote.” “A fox!” squeals another. “Yes! It was a fox.,” confirms Wold, clearly happy that the children were interested and engaged. She goes on to tell her rapt audience the similarities between these animals, all related to dogs. Wold brings out the pelt of a coyote, urging the students to feel the fur, but only with the backs of their fingers because their fingertips and palms will leave behind oils that would damage the fur.

Along with her husband, Jesse Weiland, Bri Wold is the co-founder of Rugged Research, a Larimer County-based outdoor education program for children.

Wold grew up in Berthoud and taught science at Berthoud High School from 2011-2015. She started the Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science class at the school. “Growing up here, I didn’t hike until I was in high school,” admitted Wold, “I had to wait until later in life to get involved in nature.” She made up for lost time quickly.

Wold loved teaching but became frustrated trying to teach about nature and the environment while being stuck in a classroom most of the time. She took her classes outside to learn as often as possible, including trips to study in Central America, but it wasn’t enough. “I wanted nature as a classroom.,” Wold decided. She quit teaching to work as a Park Ranger in Larimer County, participating in search and rescue operations and helping evacuate hikers when wildfires roared through the Rockies.

Later, Wold went to Hawaii, to participate in a plant survey in Maui with the Nature Conservancy. That’s where she met Jesse Weiland, an experienced National Parks ranger and equally dedicated environmental scientist and educator.

After getting married, they decided to settle in Colorado. As educators at heart, they brainstormed ideas to bring outdoor education to as many children as possible. Gathering fellow park rangers and teachers, they launched Rugged Research as a multi-pronged approach to getting children involved in nature as early as possible.

As their website states, “Our goal is to instill Colorado students of all ages with a sense of place and wonder within their local ecosystems. ​We believe that cultivating a love and respect for nature at a young age will transfer into a desire to care for our planet as an adult.”

Rugged Research offers many different programs to reach children from Pre-K to Middle School. From summer camps to after-school programs, their lesson plans adapt to the local environment, so they can serve students from inner-city schools to homeschoolers. Rugged Research offers programs in the Denver area and across northern Colorado. They recently received a grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to bring outdoor education to underserved kids.

“Kids have so much fun,” says Weiland, “teaching is not just a lecture. We want to spark joy and a sense of discovery. We want to convince kids to fall in love with nature and become an army of eco-heroes.”

They use many methods to spark the joy of outdoor learning. “We do games based on nature,” says Wold, “like predator-prey relationships and collecting “found” materials to build a bird’s nest. They’re having so much fun they don’t realize they’re learning.”

Rugged Research topics include Wildlife Tracking, River Hikes, Nature Scavenger Hunts, Bugs 101, Rocks Rock!, Animals Around Us and many, many more.

In the short time since Rugged Research was founded, they’ve already reached thousands of children and their programs continue to expand. Close ranger/teacher friends of Wold and Weiland have founded Rugged Research programs in Kentucky and New Jersey.

To read more about Rugged Research and sign up for programs, go to their website: www.ruggedresearch.org.