“We want them to be connected to the natural world.”
Friends of Camp Colton Executive Director Ari Wilder expressed gratitude for the $7,500 donation from Babbitt Brothers Foundation, NextEra Energy Resources and Salt River Project to support the environmental education facility’s expansion and renovation plans. The gift was announced during the Babbitt Ranch Energy Center completion celebration this fall at the wind farm north of Flagstaff.
“We are acutely aware that we are educating our future citizens,” Wilder said of the 1,200 campers in the program each year. “We want them to be connected to the natural world. We want them to value and understand healthy forests, renewable energy and water conservation.”
The Friends of Camp Colton nonprofit organization is conducting a capital campaign to raise funds for a new 6,517-square-foot lodge with a modern kitchen to feed the many student campers who visit and sleeping quarters for the staff. Phase 1 of the project also calls for septic, water and photovoltaic systems.
Wilder says the multi-million dollar master plan will be funded through the current campaign and a Flagstaff Unified School District School bond approved by voters in 2022. Located in Hart Prairie at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet, Camp Colton is in an ecologically significant and scenic off-grid setting where students are immersed in nature and sustainable living. FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
Courtesy Photo: Wilder accepted the large check from NextEra Energy Resources Executive Director of Development J.D. Rulien, SRP Senior Director of Resource Management Angie Bond-Simpson and Babbitt Ranches President Billy Cordasco.