PHOTOS: Students deliver thank you cards to RMNP staff

From left, park rangers Caden Wilson, Sarah Garcia and Belen del Valle Coello received cards from students at Rocky Mountain National Park's Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. In a heartfelt gesture of appreciation, 17 sixth-grade students from Shining Mountain Waldorf School have created personalized thank-you cards for National Park Service staff. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) — From left, park rangers Caden Wilson, Sarah Garcia and Belen del Valle Coello received cards from students at Rocky Mountain National Park’s Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. In a heartfelt gesture of appreciation, 17 sixth-grade students from Shining Mountain Waldorf School have created personalized thank-you cards for National Park Service staff. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

On their way to a ranger-led Winter Ecology field trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, a group of 17 sixth graders from Boulder’s Shining Mountain Waldorf School delivered hand-made cards of appreciation to park rangers.

The students’ gesture comes on the heels of federal employees across the country, including National Park Service employees, being laid off and having funding cut in an attempt to reduce federal spending, led by the recently formed Department of Government Efficiency.

Annalise Sturgis, 12, shows her card for park rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park's Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) — Annalise Sturgis, 12, shows her card for park rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park’s Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Park ranger Belen del Valle Coello, center, welcomes students at Rocky Mountain National Park's Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) — Park ranger Belen del Valle Coello, center, welcomes students at Rocky Mountain National Park’s Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Estes Park, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

One card, written by twelve-year-old Annalise Sturgis, read “What you do is really important and I want you to know that we are very grateful for all the effort you put into the work that we need so much.”

After stopping by the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, delivering the cards and visiting with park staff, the students strapped on snowshoes and embarked on their multi-hour trip where park rangers Belen del Valle Coello and Caden Wilson led them up Bear Lake Trail. Along the way students learned about plants and animal identification, how they survive the high-alpine winter conditions, as well as how to safely navigate and minimize their impact on the landscape.