The Utah Children’s Outdoor Recreation and Education (UCORE) grant funds programming that provides Utah’s children with outdoor recreation skill-building and nature-focused, hands-on learning.
UCORE programs help provide high-quality, outdoor-focused learning experiences to youth ages 6-18, and teach them the physical skills that can make outdoor recreation part of a healthy and active lifestyle. UCORE complements the state’s Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) Initiative and hopes to provide more opportunities, so no child is left inside.
UCORE funds programming to help get Utah children, ages 6-18, outdoors — to learn, to gain a skill, and to enjoy the outdoors!
14 grant workshops were held across the state in November 2019. Here is a recording of the workshop presentation.
Elevated Mountain Guides, a 2020 UCORE grant recipient, is committed to empowering underserved communities – locally and abroad – looking to access the outdoors, expand their expertise, and engage with nature. Through their program, Project Climb, they work in local climbing gyms to develop the skills and confidence to get outdoors, utilizing therapeutic techniques to aid their participants in the outdoors and their daily lives. The Utah Children’s Outdoor Recreation and Education (UCORE) grant will help to support this program and expand outdoor access to underserved youth in the greater Salt Lake area.
| Project Name Applicant | Category | County | Total Project Value | Amount Granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGCUC Teen Outdoor Recreation Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah | Canoeing, Kayaking, Rafting | Utah | $25,000 | $5,000 |
| Color Country Natural Resource Camp Color Country Natural Resource Camp | Camping | Iron | $18,064 | $5,000 |
| Cosmic Voyage Stellar Vista Observatory | Nature-based STEM lessons | Kane | $15,469 | $3,000 |
| Developing Youth Confidence in Canoeing Garfield Economic Development | Canoeing, Kayaking, Rafting | Garfield | $24,750 | $4,000 |
| Discover Education through Recreation Canyon Country Discovery Center | Hiking | San Juan | $17,500 | $3,000 |
| Farr West Youth Fishing Club Farr West City | Fishing | Weber | $1,000 | $500 |
| Healthy Communities Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation | Skiing or Snowboarding | Wasatch | $180,000 | $5,000 |
| Jr. Adventurer learning/recreation for youth with disabilities Common Ground Adventures | Nature-based STEM lessons | Cache | $100,000 | $4,000 |
| Kids Camping in the Wasatch Wasatch Mountain Institute | Nature-based STEM lessons | Wasatch | $32,250 | $7,000 |
| Lakeside Learning Field Trip Program FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake | Nature-based STEM lessons | Davis | $29,725 | $5,000 |
| Nature Education Programs for School Children Ogden Nature Center | Nature-based STEM lessons | Weber | $94,950 | $3,500 |
| Outdoor Science School for Grand Students Canyonlands Field Institute | Nature-based STEM lessons | Grand | $28,689 | $6,000 |
| PAWS-On (Plants, Animals, Water, and Soil) Conservation Education Dinosaurland Resource Conservation and Development | Nature-based STEM lessons | Duchesne | $18,000 | $5,000 |
| Project Climb Elevated Mountain Guides | Climbing | Salt Lake | $20,508 | $5,000 |
| Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks Youth Outdoor Education Friends of Arches and Canyonlands | Camping | Grand | $91,740 | $4,350 |
| Sanpete 4-H Outdoor Recreation Club Utah State University Extension – Sanpete | Nature-based STEM lessons | Sanpete | $18,176 | $4,000 |
| St. George Outdoors City of St. George Leisure Services: St. George Outdoors | Biking | Washington | $50,000 | $5,000 |
| Swaner Youth Camps Program Swaner Preserve and Eco Center, an extension program of Utah State University | Nature-based STEM lessons | Summit | $148,737 | $5,000 |
| Swanson’s North Fork Environmental Center Equipment upgrade Weber School District | Skiing or Snowboarding | Weber | $5,000 | $2,500 |
| Uintah 4-H Adventures Uintah | Canoeing, Kayaking, Rafting | Uintah | $4,300 | $2,150 |
| USU Extension Juab 4-H Shooting Sports Utah State University | Shooting sports | Juab | $8,000 | $4,000 |
| Wasatch Adaptive Sports Adaptive Skiing Program Wasatch Adaptive Sports | Skiing or Snowboarding | Salt Lake | $545,797 | $3,000 |
| Youth Naturalist Cottonwood Canyons Foundation | Nature-based STEM lessons | Salt Lake | $109,260 | $5,000 |
| Youth Open Shop, Bicycle Collective Salt Lake Bicycle Collective | Biking | Salt Lake | $33,608 | $4,000 |
| Total | 17 Counties | $1,620,523 | $100,000 | |
The types of outdoor recreation or nature exploration categories eligible for UCORE grants are listed below.
We realize that skill building for some activities is best begun in a controlled environment before youth are ready to move to the practice of their skills in a natural or outdoor environment. For example, it may be necessary to teach basic skills for horseback-riding in an arena or enclosed corral or climbing in a climbing gym before moving the activity into the natural environment. A program is eligible as long as the program progresses in the skill-building and ends with the youth in the natural environment.
Contact Tara McKee (tmckee@utah.gov) or India Nielsen (indianielsen@utah.gov) with any questions.