ALAMOSA — Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area (SdCNHA) is looking for students to participate in its Caminos de Valle Youth Walking Tours and its Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Camp.

With 11,000 years of documented human habitation, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is a crossroads of the centuries. Here a blend of Native American, Hispano and Anglo settlement is reflected in the diversity of the people, art and traditions. The geographic isolation of the high desert San Luis Valley and the peoples’ enduring ties to the land have given rise to a rich cultural heritage and ensured its preservation.

The area’s fertile cultural landscape is complemented by remarkable natural resources, including the mighty Rio Grande, majestic Rocky Mountain peaks, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, Baca National Wildlife Refuge and Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuges, and the high mountain desert, all of which lend the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area an unparalleled beauty that offers a sense of retreat and a powerful source of inspiration for visitors.

Caminos de Valle Youth Walking Tours: SdCNHA will train six youth, ages 16-18, in group leadership roles that will lead walking tours in neighborhoods and public lands, cultural and historical nature, land and water conservation, nature-based education, walk facilitation, and tourism all within the heritage area. Students will choose the topics and locations they would like to lead tours in as well as becoming CPR certified, trained in public speaking, self-defense, history, culture, and traditions. Each youth leader will receive a stipend at the end of the program for leading guided walking tours in the month of June, 2022.  This program is free to the youth.

Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area Camp: SdCNHA will host two one-week-long camps in June.  One for middle school aged students and one for high school aged students. This is an opportunity for youth to learn local history, heritage, traditions, and culture by visiting a variety of sites within the heritage area as historians will be able to elaborate on such topics and answer questions. This program is free to the youth.

If interested, fill out an application online at www.sangreheritage.org/collaborate/ and email to [email protected] or hand deliver to 231 State Ave. in Alamosa.