Apprentices Close 2025 Season

The arrival of fall always seems to come with the question: “Wait, where did the summer go?” This fall is no different, as the Community Programs team bid goodbye to four amazing youth that served in the 2025 apprenticeship program. The apprentices come away from the program with new skills, from obtaining Wilderness First Aid certifications, to installing H braces on fencing, to the not-so-small feat of helping manage irrigation on 83 acres. Oh, and if you enjoyed fresh vegetables (or pictures of fresh vegetables) from Fozzie’s Farm this summer? That is thanks to the apprentices, who, along with the guiding hands of Farm Manager Tanner Besse, ensured that our first growing season in the high tunnel produced a bumper crop. The apprentices also explored away from the farm to gain a broader perspective around post-apprenticeship opportunities and MLC’s work on the whole as a conservation organization. The apprentices did field walks and learned about cow culling from Jaime Johnson, who operates Saddlehorn Ranch and leases pasture at Fozzie’s Farm. They got to know Mesa Verde National Park during a visit with fellow youth interns from Cultivando, a Commerce City based environmental justice nonprofit. They helped monitor conservation easements with our Stewardship Coordinator, Camryn Uetz. And they visited Fort Lewis College to learn about what life may look like post-apprenticeship.

Here are some snippets from our apprentices, looking back at their time in the program:

Olive: “I am a very hard worker, and I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to.”

Kayden: “One thing I learned was that I love the area [we] live in. I used to always want to leave, but now I see that my place in the world is here because it’s my home. The apprenticeship program gave me a sense of confidence in being able to run my own farm/ranch one day. This program has brought nothing but growth to me as a person.”

Brock: “I was most interested in regenerative agriculture and vegetable farming… and in soil health and how that effects crop growth and the ecosystem as a whole… Also, I learned a lot about how to keep going even when I am struggling.”

One of the hallmarks of Community Programs at Montezuma Land Conservancy is the focus on building relationships with youth through distinct program offerings. Youth that first came to Fozzie’s on a field trip in elementary school have, years later, gone on to serve in the apprenticeship program. Apprentices themselves have come back to work a second summer or pursued post-secondary options in the environmental field. We are proud of the relationships we build, and we are especially proud of the 2025 apprentices. So while we bid goodbye knowing that their futures are as bright as a July sun at Fozzie’s, we have a feeling we will see them soon, somewhere down the road.