Camp Colton
Project Life
Goals of Life
Through Project LIFE students learn to....
- live in a wilderness setting
- appreciate the natural environment
- understand humankind's involvement in the environment
- share their strengths and skills with others
- accept responsibility for themselves
- improve their social skills
- make new friends
- strengthen their sense of belonging
A Life Experience
Project LIFE (Life in the Flagstaff Environment) gives every sixth grade student in the district the opportunity to spend a week at Camp Colton, a Flagstaff School District facility on the western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks. Accompanied by their classroom teachers, the students learn outdoor living skills and environmental appreciation from resident specialists who teach seven sessions each fall and four each spring.
The Project LIFE experience begins with a Monday bus ride to the camp, about 14 miles north of Flagstaff on Hart Prairie Road. The first day is spent in orientation activities and setting up camp.
On Tuesday, the curriculum begins in earnest, with students being divided into small instructional groups. One group will study survival skills, another will learn about wildlife, others will worm on the compass course, some will hike to the Veit Ranch and others will go off to explore lava caves.
By the end of the week, each group will have had the opportunity to participate in each activity in the curriculum. As the students participate in specific activities, their instruction is integrated to include element of geology, botany, zoology, meteorology, astronomy and history as well as specific lessons in the unique wildlife of the peaks and the delicate balance of life on the edges of ponds and streams.
Though they devote considerable time to study, students also enjoy ample recreational opportunities, including sports and socializing. The Thursday night square dance, for example, is always one of the highlights of the week.
Whether the students are playing volleyball, reading ancient Indian petrogliphs or sitting by the campfire pondering the legend of stolen gold hidden on the Veit Ranch, they have fun. And as any parent or teacher knows, the lessons that children enjoy learning most are the ones they remember best.
By the time they head back to civilization on Friday, the students will have gained insights and memories they will treasure forever. Each will have discovered a personal affinity for the natural world and his or her individual responsibility to preserve its beauty and wonder for future generations. along the way they also will have discovered that they are just the kind of string, capable people that can meet that responsibility.
Preparation for Life
Though the setting is different from a traditional school building, parents should realize that Project LIFE is a serious instructional program and not a week of play. The same standards of behavior and cooperation are expected at Camp Colton as at any other district facility.
With reasonable allowances made for the excitement children are expected to display under the circumstances, students who do not respect the camp rules will be sent home. Parents may want to discuss their expectations for responsible behavior with their children before they leave for camp.
The student's school will provide parents with a complete checklist of clothing and equipment each student is expected to bring to camp. All clothing, luggage and other personal items should be clearly labeled with the child's name and school.
Parents must complete the registration and medical forms sent home with students scheduled to participate in Project LIFE. They also should notify school staff of any problems their child has that will require special attention while the student is at Camp Colton.
A full-time medical technician is assigned to the camp to deal with emergencies and the camp is in radio contact with the school district office should an urgent need for communication arise either from a student or parents.
Any questions about Project LIFE or the Camp Colton facility should be directed to the project office at 520-527-6109.
History of Life
Project LIFE was started in 1971 by educators and parents who wanted to create a program to stimulate students' interest in science through a hands-on environmental education program. A secondary purpose for the program was to improve students' self-esteem and social skills by having them live cooperatively in a primitive setting removed from modern conveniences. 
Sixth grade was selected as the appropriate time for students to participate in the program because those students are mature enough to fully understand the lessons and young enough to apply what they learn throughout their junior high and high school years.
For the first five years, Project LIFE took place at a camp near Mormon Lake, 25 miles southeast of Flagstaff. In 1976 it moved to Camp Colton, a former Youth Conservation Corps Camp on the lower slopes of the San Francisco Peaks near Hart Prairie. In 1985 the Flagstaff School District bought the 20-acre facility from the Wilson Foundation and gave Project LIFE a permanent home.
Camp Colton is an ideal setting for the project because it is located in the midst of the Coconino National Forest with its abundant wildlife and virtually unlimited opportunities for outdoor learning and recreation. The Lamar Haines Memorial Wildlife Area, on the sire of one of Flagstaff's first homesteads, the Veit Ranch, is within walking distance and a spectacular lava cave is a short drive.
