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Eight great reasons to donate to the Colorado Springs Independent's Give! Campaign
Click here to make a contribution to any or all of these organizations.
The Pikes Peak Region has been blessed with a beautiful landscape and active and caring citizens. Those who run, ride, hike and climb in our amazing parks and open spaces owe much to our neighbors who worked to preserve these wonderful, natural landscapes.
We think the best way to show our appreciation for these gifts is to take care of them. And a good way to do that is through the Colorado Springs Independent's Give! Campaign.
This year, the campaign's steering committee selected 40 local nonprofit organizations to be part of Give! 2010.
We'll say it right up front, they all deserve our support. The top three priorities of PikesPeakSports.us are: 1. Community, 2. Community, and 3. Community. Not necessarily in that order. So we applaud all of the organizations - and the people who make them work - in this year's Give! Campaign.
But there are seven that we feel are most important to the region's outdoor culture. Here is a little about each.
The Trails and Open Space Coalition: A leader in the preservation and maintenance of parks, trails and open spaces. TOSC began in 1986 and has helped orchestrate the acquisitions of Red Rock Canyon, Corral Bluffs, White Acres, Cheyenne Mountain and Section 16, and it maintains hundreds of miles of trails. It recently launched the Sustainable Parks Initiative that works to fill the void left by cuts to park budgets.
Friends of Cheyenne Cañon: This organization is "dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural, scenic, and historic resources of North Cheyenne Cañon Park, a 1,600 acre regional park acquired over 120 years ago by the City of Colorado
Springs," according to its website. Fund-raising efforts helped keep the park open in 2010 after city funds were slashed by 80 percent. Anyone who has visited North Cheyenne Cañon Park realizes that it is a jewel worth supporting.
Friends of Garden of the Gods: From the Friends of Garden of the Gods website: "We are dedicated to promoting, preserving and enhancing the natural and
historic assets of the Garden of the Gods for the area’s citizens and
visitors through interpretive and educational support." Not only is the Garden of the Gods one of the most beautiful parks in the country, it is an economic generator for Colorado Springs with about 2 million annual visitors.
Protect Pikes Peak: A project of the Palmer Land Trust, Protect Pikes Peak has worked to permanently conserve 70,000 acres of public open spaces, historic farms and ranches, wildlife habitat and scenic vistas. The organization has a goal to conserve an additional 14,000 acres that will help establish a "green belt" around Pikes Peak.
Rocky Mountain Field Institute: This organization's can-do attitude make it invaluable. It accounts for thousands of volunteer hours of trail building and maintenance in the Pikes Peak Region each year. Projects have included work in Garden of the Gods, riparian habitat along Fountain Creek and wetlands on the flanks of Pikes Peak.
Bear Creek and Fountain Nature Centers: When it comes to caring for our parks and open spaces, education is the place to start. That's why we appreciate the work of the Bear Creek and Fountain Creek Nature Centers, which host thousands of students each year, teaching them about our environment, the plants and animals that live here, and the importance of caring for it all.
Two more who deserve a nod
Kids on Bikes: This organization was created by Paige Carmichael, wife of Chris Carmichael who coached Lance Armstrong to seven Tour de France titles. Kids on Bikes is currently managed by Lindsey Arkfeld. It's common to see Lindsey working hard at cycling events throughout the area, creating awareness for Kids on Bikes. The organization has "provided more than 700 bicycles to children in need, through programs that inspire a healthy lifestyle, independence and achievement."
Bike Clinic Too: This organization takes broken down bicycles and restores them to good working order. The bikes are then given to impoverished people who need transportation. The organization was established in 2000 and provides 700 bikes a year to adults and kids. The organization has no website, but lists a phone number: 719-358-3637. Address: 737 W. Monument St., 80904.
Bikes, tools and other accessories can be dropped off at Criterium Bikes, 6150 Corporate Dr. and Old Town Bike Shop, 426 S. Tejon.
Tell us which of these organizations you like and why and you'll be entered to win a PikesPeakSports.us T-shirt.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kevin League on
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Tim great write-up, I would love to expand on why the Palmer Land Trust is an important group in our region as they are often misundersood in the ways that they protect the places we recreate in.
Palmer Land Trust's Public Open Space Initiative continues the legacy left by Palmer’s namesake, General William Jackson Palmer, who gave more than 2,000 acres of parks, bridle and foot paths, and tree-lined streets to the City of Colorado Springs. Palmer Land Trust holds eleven conservation easements on city and county owned properties, providing permanent protection for lands that offer area residents open space and recreational opportunities.
Why, you might ask, does a conservation easement need to be placed on a publicly owned and managed open space park? The simple reason is that even though a property might be a park or open space it doees NOT mean it is protected. Come hard economic times and a city can sell a park for revenue; it is not possible when a park or open space is protected by conservation easement.
Some of our favorite parks where we ride, Red Rock Canyon, Stratton Open Space, Catamount and soon Section 16 are protected by a conservation easement held by the Palmer Land Trust. That is why it is so important to support their work this holiday season through the Indy Give Campaign.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Bergsten on
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Hey Kevin, Thanks a TON for your comments. I just learned more about conservation easements than I'd learned in ... well ... my whole life.
Kevin League said:Tim great write-up, I would love to expand on why the Palmer Land Trust is an important group in our region as they are often misundersood in the ways that they protect the places we recreate in.
Palmer Land Trust's Public Open Space Initiative continues the legacy left by Palmer’s namesake, General William Jackson Palmer, who gave more than 2,000 acres of parks, bridle and foot paths, and tree-lined streets to the City of Colorado Springs. Palmer Land Trust holds eleven conservation easements on city and county owned properties, providing permanent protection for lands that offer area residents open space and recreational opportunities.
Why, you might ask, does a conservation easement need to be placed on a publicly owned and managed open space park? The simple reason is that even though a property might be a park or open space it doees NOT mean it is protected. Come hard economic times and a city can sell a park for revenue; it is not possible when a park or open space is protected by conservation easement.
Some of our favorite parks where we ride, Red Rock Canyon, Stratton Open Space, Catamount and soon Section 16 are protected by a conservation easement held by the Palmer Land Trust. That is why it is so important to support their work this holiday season through the Indy Give Campaign.
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After exploring the Indy's Give! Campaign a little more I added another nonprofit that we really like (and we're fans of all 40 of them), the Bear Creek and Fountain Creek Nature Centers.
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