Ways and Days to Volunteer with Youth!
April 10, 2025
Our Youth Ecological Literacy Program field trips are coming up soon, and we need a few good volunteers! Station topics
Photo Credit: William Helms
Protecting the Arkansas River Valley
Support GARNA
Kids learning science outdoors, neighbors meeting for a hike, river guides learning our community, more families composting and recycling — what brings all these values to our daily life here in the Upper Arkansas Valley? It’s GARNA, and we want you to be a part of it!
While we do earn public support through grants and contract services, voluntary donations from individuals and businesses help ensure that all of us who live here, and those that visit, can rely on GARNA for continued enjoyment of our public lands, flowing waters and outdoor way of life.
We encourage you to join our ranks as a member, but offer other ways to support GARNA through general donations, special funds and advised giving.
General Donations
You can support GARNA through our General Fund, which helps our daily operational costs and staff support. You can also apply designations in the general donation form, including the Stage and Rail Historic Route and for our sustainability programs.
Planned Giving
Planned giving using investments or retirement accounts are a great way to support GARNA! Contact Jessica to donate through planned giving.
Donor-Advised Fund
A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a charitable investments account that allows you to donate money, stock, or other assets in an established giving account. We work through the Chaffee County Community Foundation as the sponsor organization to make your giving easy.
Qualified Charitable Distribution
Qualified charitable distributions (QDC) and Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) allow donations directly from retirement accounts. Learn More
Special Funds
Brett Beasley Memorial Scholarship
The inspiration of the Memorial Scholarship is to honor Brett Beasley, who was a partner and friend to GARNA and an employee of the USFS - Salida Ranger District. The Scholarship is awarded annually to a high school senior who is interested in pursuing a career in natural resources.
Chaffee Mobile Gear Library
The Chaffee Mobile Gear Library, a project of GARNA, is committed to improving access to the outdoors for everybody. The Chaffee Mobile Gear Library is more than just a gear lending program, it is an inclusive and empowering outdoor community. CMGL strives to support disinvested communities, uplift BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, and foster programming that centers around community, skill building, and outdoor empowerment.
ChaffeeGIVES is a year-round program of the Community Foundation and Colorado Gives Day to increase giving throughout the county. GARNA annually sets goals to fund special projects from Middle School-specific programming to outfitting the Valley View Schoolhouse Nature Learning Center.
Program Milestones
Measuring GARNA's Impact
For more information on our most recently reported program milestones, view the Annual Report.
Latest GARNA News
2025 Brett Beasley Memorial Scholarship
April 3, 2025
The Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA) is planning to award one $1,000 scholarship in the spring of 2025 to
Benthic aquatic macroinvertebrates: The hidden heroes of aquatic ecosystems
April 3, 2025
If you’re a kid who has participated in a GARNA or Trout Unlimited summer program or field trip, there is
