The Outdoor Academy is Friends of Río Grande del Norte’s year-round outdoor education and workforce program for Taos County youth. We go directly to where young people are, with weekly classes inside Taos High School, Taos Pueblo Day School, and Questa High School. No transportation barrier, no cost to families. From there, students get outside through field trips, fishing days, and hands-on experiences on the Río Grande del Norte National Monument.

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Those experiences are the beginning of a pathway. Students can move into Youth Fly Fishing and Whitewater Guide Schools, professional training and certifications, and paid internships with local outfitters and federal land agencies. What starts in the classroom or with a day on the river can lead to real work experience in guiding, wildlife, fisheries, botany, recreation, and natural resource management.

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The Outdoor Academy exists because Northern New Mexico’s outdoor economy has a problem: there aren’t enough local people in it. Rafting outfitters, fly fishing guides, and land management agencies need skilled workers, while young people growing up alongside the Río Grande have not always had a clear path into those careers. We’re changing that by connecting local youth with the skills, mentors, training, and paid opportunities to build careers right here at home.