tonight on studio 12.

Things are heating up in the garden.

Literally.

We're heading to Denver Urban Gardens to learn how to keep pests and the heat from killing your plants this summer.

Then, in our Humanize Women in the workforce series, we meet Yasmin Castillo, whose passion is in mentoring young girls.

We hear her story.

Plus, we tag along with Generation Wild to see how this unique program is helping Colorado families enjoy the great outdoors in a creative way.

All of that and more right now on studio 12.

From the Five Points Media Center in the heart of Denver, Colorado.

This is studio 12.

Hello.

And thanks for joining us.

I'm Ryan Hare.

It's great to learn how to plant your garden, but just as important to protect it.

Denver Urban Gardens is showing us how to do just that, especially during the summer.

PBS Twelve's Erica McLarty went to learn all about it.

All right.

We're here at the Horse Barn Garden with the fabulous jungle Judy.

And today we're learning about unpredictable summer pests.

All pests that include hail and heat as well.

Right?

Right.

So you're here to help us?

Hopefully.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right, let's start.

Where do we start?

I think we need to start with the soil.

The soil.

A lot of the problems that we have that, we think are really pests and diseases are caused by improper management of our soil.

So if you don't do something like enrich it with compost.

And, Erica, I think in our magic bucket there, if I could have you walk in our magic bucket, I love a magic bucket.

And you can take my garden pruners, and my scissor and my.

Wonderful.

Okay, then in the bottom of this bucket, can we uncover it?

We have the clue to healthy growing and keeping a lot of the pest away and deep.

You please take your hands and run it.

I would love to.

This is Colorado compost.

It's made from landscape material.

It's beautiful.

Isn't it beautiful.

So this is made from what a lot of people throw out to last week.

Yes.

So why would you throw this out?

Because maybe they don't know that they can take it.

Hey.

What?

You can compost.

Classic Denver urban.

Oh, okay.

You had to make.

And we have places on our soil that we use are covered with something.

Yes.

You know what that is?

No, that's a straw.

Straw.

Okay.

And the reason that we're covering the this with straw is that it keeps that soil, that growing environment cooler, up to ten degrees cooler.

Talking about gardening in the heat, it conserves moisture and it causes those roots to go down.

We're going to move over to this crop where we have some kale okay.

And I'm going to have you use one of my favorite cultivating weeding tools.

You're scaring me with that knife too.

I'm sorry.

It's a great way to I want you to just push back the straw around this, okay?

Get it.

Push it back.

You use your hand, you can use that.

Whatever works for you all the way around this kale plant.

What I'm going to do is seal the soil.

How would you describe that?

Cold.

Very moist.

Does it feel different than where you stepped?

Yes.

Very, very good.

How would you describe that dry and depressed.

Depressed.

Depressed I love it.

This is happy soil.

This is how we're going to make it even happier.

Because we're going to feed it with some compost.

Okay.

You're going to take my quarry.

Quarry.

Great weeding tool.

And this is what you're going to do.

Just like oh okay.

Mix it into the soil, man.

You don't know.

You don't know.

We don't want to mess with the roots.

So she's opening up here in the soil.

It's going to make the roots go down more.

This is what we can do also to eliminate or get a handle on weeds.

Oh, look what we have right here.

This was not staged.

We have a ladybug, right there on the plant.

And I know that on the kale, which is a member of the broccoli cabbage family we have, how do we feel about the ladybug?

Is it friend or a good friend?

Because it's going to go say, this is a plant in which I want to pause and lay my eggs.

And then the ladybug larva and the adults can munch thousands of aphids.

Look at this plot over here real quickly.

I'm looking at a white butterfly.

Oh, that beautiful white butterfly.

I love it, but this is the white cabbage butterfly.

And why is that important?

Because just like the aphids are attracted to the.

This is actually a cauliflower which has been left too long.

In the garden, you can see its florets are turning yellow and it's open.

So kale and cabbage and broccoli and brussel sprouts, all a member of that cabbage family that attracts they have strong sulfur smells.

And it's coming in and saying, I can smell the sulfur.

I'm going to oh, another one just came in.

So they're in a good sign.

This is not well they're they're attracted you know they were attracted to that.

Yeah.

So at the first sign of aphids on your plant, you're going to take a strong, spray of water, okay.

And just wash it directly off.

This is an example of healthy cauliflower okay.

Well, it looks great.

That one looks sad.

I don't look, I learned I've learned this is my body.

This has been left a little long.

So what we need to do to prevent this, this one's from looking like this is to keep the sun.

And I would take the outer leaves, which probably have a fish, tie them up.

Okay.

What do you think that's doing it versus sun.

Oh, gosh.

It's just blocking all this on the sun.

Perfect answer.

You get an A-plus.

So I love this.

So what that's doing and it's not going to hurt the leaves.

No it's not going to impact the stream okay.

You can also use like a rubber band okay.

So you're just getting the big leaves at the edges just so.

Yeah that's really cool.

Isn't that a cool.

Yeah.

Erica, I'm looking at a curl here.

Oh, is almost at the leaves at this.

Will you please unfurl that curl?

Like for the curl?

Would you go a little box?

Oh, look.

Look what we got.

Yeah, we've got aphids.

So once we have washed the aphids out.

And, Erica, will you show people how to keep those curds?

Those are called curds nice and white so they don't turn like that.

What do we need to do?

We're going to tie them up.

We are pretty tired.

I mean, they've been bad.

Isn't that so?

To keep out the sun and keep that nice and white.

Erica is picking up those broad leaves, either using some kitchen string or a rubber band.

She's going to keep the sun here.

Oh, just like we would put sunscreen on everybody.

We want to keep the sun out of that, I love it.

I do want to look here because if we can find a caterpillar, it's dramatic.

So come on in here.

I want to find a cat.

Well, I'm going to let you go on a hunt.

I know that these are probably aphids.

Here I am looking at these kind of holes in this plant, so I'm not seeing it.

But the larva of the little fluttering white cabbage butterfly, it's this green caterpillar that you need to just brush off with your hand.

What's the pest right now that they're just like, help me, Judy, this pest is killing my garden.

If you had asked me last year, I would have said Japanese beetles.

You could not walk in this garden and see our grapevine over there because it was skeletonized or our Grove compost site.

It was skeletonized.

There are almost no beetles this year.

What I am having an incredible problem with do a lot to climate change and extreme drought and heat are grasshoppers, grasshoppers.

So grasshoppers.

We're all looking at organic ways of managing it.

Yeah, I'd recommend that people on before things flower, take some garden knitting and put it over the plants to physically exclude the grasshoppers.

Now, right here in the garden, we're always concerned about hail.

And we're concerned about extreme heat.

So right behind us we had a hail scare here where we were supposed to get a tennis ball sized hail that never came, ever came.

This is doable.

But you were prepared.

Well.

Hazards are wonderful gardener okay.

Or one of the gardeners in this place was prepared.

So what this person did was just set up a simple system, went out to a garden center and purchased some hail netting to drape over it.

This is dual purpose.

Great.

This can also be used in the heat of summer.

I recommend shade cloth.

Kind of simple structure.

It's usually 40% light, 40 to 50% light from permeability.

Yes, just drape it over some simple stakes.

Preventative.

Very easy to do.

This is something I could do just.

Well, you see, we want those things that worked for you.

However, you and you don't need to spend a lot of money on it.

I've got some area here which is not only empty, but which I'm going to ask Erica to.

First of all, in this area, use your hands.

Move that straw.

She knows how to do that really?

Well.

Here.

I will put it back.

She's going to put it back.

I like it.

And then what?

We're going to do our two seconds.

So we're planting.

We're planting more onions, more onions.

Putting more onions in here to go along with the few onions we have.

And what will the onions do.

Because the onions are going to smell stronger.

Oh, and disguise the smell by which the cabbage.

Butterfly.

Fine.

So we're going to say I'm going to put the cabbage in the fall.

We would have garlic.

It doesn't need to be really deep.

They're just going to chop.

That's fine.

Continue doing your chop, chop, chop.

Put it in some compost, will you please mix that compost in?

Yes.

Like a mixing bowl.

Just will.

What I like to you can close you just pick it up and mix the soil in with the compost.

Right.

Yeah.

So we're not.

Yeah.

So hold it in a I like the cooking.

So we're folding it in okay.

Absolutely.

Now I have some transplants which were donated this morning.

I will not have it.

We don't have it.

No, she knows that we don't.

Us.

Erica.

We use your daughter or son.

I have both.

Okay.

Tangled hair.

Carefully.

We have tangled hair at the bottom.

Okay, we're going to carefully untangle those roots because we're going to have two bulbs of onions.

So start from the top and carefully pull it apart.

I'm going.

I don't want to hurt it.

Oh, I know what we're giving it space in between right here.

So I'm pulling it.

Okay.

Almost there.

Almost all of damage it.

So this whole people are afraid.

I need to learn to be okay.

So, Erica, I am going to.

Why don't we go ahead?

That one is going to go to number one.

Really?

Just wanted to put it in.

Now you're going to cover up each bowl okay.

You do him.

Oh.

Flat hand pattern.

Oh okay.

Got it.

Okay.

And about three inches apart or so because we need to get that bulb time okay.

Place this and we'll have two onions.

Plenty I'm going to have you use that shovel okay.

Yeah.

And I'm going to have you dig down all around there.

You know the plan.

I can't believe I'm getting a lesson from Jungle Judy herself.

And I would dig down.

All right, I'm going to dig down deeper because we're going to actually plant a tomato plants there.

Do you want me to keep going even deeper than.

I don't know.

Let me sit down, see what you've done.

Okay.

Such good work.

They have the shovel.

Yes.

So I think that's what this is great.

What I want you to do is just the same thing, but a little wider.

Because those roots then so dig down just like that.

But just like I'm doing.

Okay.

Little piece of it wider.

Go for it and put it right in the same place so we know where that soil is.

Okay.

Boy, we have a master gardener in.

I'm so just trying here.

And you know, the routine, what goes in the whole the mulch.

No, no.

Sorry.

Close you are close.

The, begins with the see.

Oh my God, with the.

Thank you.

Let's start.

You could just use.

You could just dump duty, dump dumps, compost in the hole.

Okay.

Are we good right there?

I don't know, dump some compost in the hole.

Just pull.

Go.

One more handful there and then another handful that you're going to mixing with this stuff.

Okay, see, this is what.

But this is why I'm the perfect person.

Because I'm a beginner, you know, you're a learner, which I love.

Now that wonderful a spoon.

I'm just going to take a little bit of this.

And this is complete.

This is registered again.

It's not going to give it a whole bunch of nitrogen to to fill it form.

I could just mix that in with your hands.

I don't want you to mess with the roots.

I just want you to squeeze this so that the roots are going there, okay?

Just squeeze it.

There's going to go down.

Tomatoes will form roots all on the stem.

So we're going to bury this out.

So you do not break up the roots with Komeito.

Push all this.

See how deep we're putting this in.

A lot deeper than most people will think that this is good.

It's last chance.

I would even go for the stuff I have up.

As tomatoes grow, the flowers would produce from the side of the stem in between a branch and this stem.

I can't show you because this is so small it tries to come up with another little should call this sucker.

Okay, if you see suckers every week, finish them off or cut them all.

Got it?

Okay, so summer is the perfect time to put your tomatoes.

Well, I would order my late to the game earlier.

Okay.

But I think that we because it's so hot now and this is a variety that will produce fruit before the end of the season.

We're also saying this is this last chance.

These were so we had a chance.

Yes.

We've got onions in for Repellency and the marigolds which are going to produce pollination.

Good job.

All right sunshine always water.

This is the base ever overhead watering invaders.

That's probably why my trails into.

So I'll show you an example before you leave us some diseases coming because I.

Because watered them on top.

Yeah.

Always from the soil.

Those bottom leaves develop diseases first they drop on the soil surface.

Okay.

These purple proliferate.

A lot of what we're talking about is basic plant care.

Optimize the health of the plant I love it makes sense.

This was so much fun today.

Thank you for teaching me.

I learned a lot.

Are there any final thoughts that you can leave us with this for about three three days worth of final thoughts?

But if I had to say you had to sum it up, I would say please remember that I think people keep the negative antenna up.

A lot of times they say, this didn't work.

This didn't work.

Keep your journal, your phone, take pictures of what you loved and realize that a garden is not a competition.

It's not a race.

A garden feeds your soul.

It's for stress relief in addition to food access.

So after these many years of gardening, I vowed one thing.

Each year I'm going to make a different mistake.

I love that I'm great at making mistakes.

Every year I got this.

We're so thankful that you chose to spend time with us in this day of learning in peace and reflection.

Awesome.

Thanks, Judy.

Thank you for sharing your your heart.

For more information about Denver Urban Gardens and to find out how you can get involved.

Go to d ug.org.

in our series Humanize Colorado Women in the workforce, we're sharing powerful stories of women navigating their careers across Colorado.

This week we meet Yasmeen Castillo, a woman who found purpose and power in mentoring young girls through her work at Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver.

From facing imposter syndrome to challenging the wage gap, Yasmeen opens up about breaking down barriers and uplifting other women along the way.

My name is Yasmin Castillo and I am a first generation American.

Currently, I work on the development team at Girls Inc. of Metro Denver.

I've been in this role for about, going on two years, but I've been involved with the organization for, I think, almost ten years.

When I first moved to Denver and 2015, I started, as a volunteer with girls Inc..

I've always been involved, with youth and in mentoring programs.

And so I wanted to find that here in Denver and especially with young girls.

And so I started out as a volunteer, and then throughout the years, just wear many hats from mentor to, lead to managing the volunteer program.

When I first, came to the organization, it was the first time that I vividly remember seeing somebody who looked like me in a CEO and leadership position.

At the time, the CEO was Sonia Oliveri, which is a powerhouse of a leader, and she was the first woman in that role, that I felt represented by.

And it changed things for me.

It's like for the first time, I could see myself in leadership.

And I just loved the, the space.

It was empowering and supportive and just being around the girls and the women in an all women, all girl and women centered space is I mean, we hear it all the time.

Representation matters.

Who we see is who we believe we can be.

The opportunities that I thought were like, available to me or possible for me were limited.

And I grew up in a small town.

My dad was landscaper and my mom like cleaned houses.

There's this funny comedian that always says, like, being a daughter of immigrants is your parents.

It's like your, doctor, lawyer, engineer, a failure because those are the careers that you that you know, to be as, like, successful.

Little do you know that there's so many other possibilities out there.

And so at girls, I think like one of the biggest things is that exploration of what is possible is very intentional in, what what we do, our programing around, from career exploration in college and everything and to make sure intentionally that it is women that look like them.

It's very different when you see somebody who looks like you or speaks like you, or comes from a similar background that makes that click and that connection where it's like, oh, I can do that too.

One of the biggest aspects of being a daughter of immigrants is your work ethic.

And that just innate like resourcefulness and, compassion, empathy for, like navigating the world, I think through just like the intersections of my identities.

It has given me like a different perspective for how to just, like, think through challenges.

And I think especially be compassionate to people's stories, especially like women and women of color.

The imposter syndrome is real.

Wondering, like that little voice in the back of your head that's continuously like, do I belong here?

And, like, having to remind yourself and standing it that I do belong here.

And I've earned this, and I deserve to be here as much as anybody else.

I think for me, as, as a Latina, getting paid $0.51 to the dollar of a white man is that I have to work twice as hard, to get half as much.

That is also the conversation that needs to happen.

And not just empowering and, like, building confidence within girls and women, being like, first generation and going through school and something that I always like, I always continuously had 1 to 2 jobs in order to get through.

It always came with like something had to be sacrificed, like it was a constant balance of doing good professionally or like socially, but then also being there for my family.

I'm like very focused on my career and I'm very happy being focused on my career.

But I know that I want kids in the future, but I know that like if if I have children now, I kind of have to sacrifice being able to pursue, you know, having the flexibility to be all in, in my career.

And sometimes it's hard to to do that when you have all these societal pressures.

I think we are starting to see more women who are that it is okay to have, you know, children later in life and focus on your career.

There are a lot of like professional and amazing women in that are around me now who that that is what they chose.

And it's really comforting to see that the other like scary thing for me is like I as I think about like having kids in the future is the cost of childcare.

I have friends now that have like little ones and they like the cost of childcare is somebody entire like annual salary.

I know when you're talking about women that you know, you look up to, and I think especially as you progress in your career, is you have to like it is a responsibility to intentionally then, you know, bring people up with you, especially women, especially women of color, bringing them into this like unspoken knowledge of, yeah, advocating for pay and negotiating and asking for a promotion and how to how to navigate those conversations to be that person that brings people up with you.

The sacrifices, as much as like my parents have done to nurture, to get me here like, this is what I'm doing to, you know, continue that, building a better life for all of us.

Since our interview with Yasmeen, she is now associate Director of Development at MSU Denver, helping lead the $100 million Roadrunner Rise campaign to support student success and equity.

She remains a strong advocate for immigrant communities, and was recently featured in a civic engagement campaign with the Latina Initiative.

You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Instagram at I Am Yasmeen Castillo and learn more at MSU Denver Edu slash Roadrunners dash rise.

interview all of the Human Eyes series.

You can go to our YouTube channel or our website at PBS 12 dawg.

on Colorado inside out.

Kyle Dyer and her dynamic lineup of panelists bring to the table real issues that impact Colorado and our lives.

Here's Kyle with more on this week's stories making headlines.

Hi, Ryan.

It's good to see you.

You know, if you walk on any college campus these days, it's super quiet.

But I have found myself in the last couple of weeks, keep seeing stories about different colleges in Colorado and their leadership.

So I opened up a conversation with our insiders.

Here's a listen.

Colorado college campuses are pretty quiet these days, with it being summer break, but there is a lot going on when it comes to leadership.

The Air Force Academy is having to lay off 140 civilian employees because of budget cuts.

A C region was centered for only the second time in the school's history.

Over do you?

Almost 37% of faculty members voted no confidence for the Chancellor there.

And then a hearing is set to begin next week.

Investigating claims of anti-Semitism at Community College of Denver, Metro State and CU Denver, specifically around the pro-Palestinian protests on the Prairie campus last year.

Tyrone, where would you like to start with this?

I'll start with the C region.

Wanda.

James.

This is a stance that's only been used one other time in the history of the University of Colorado.

I mean, it is an extreme measure, and it is certainly retaliatory for her viewpoint and her outspokenness.

And it doesn't sit well with me.

She is elected by her constituents.

She wasn't sort of hiding who she was during that election.

You knew who wanted James Lewis.

You knew that she was passionate about cannabis advocacy.

You knew that she was going to go in there and be outspoken and outspoken about marginalized students.

And she goes in there and she does this and they use this internal administrative mechanism, I think, to try to really silencer.

My understanding, however, though, is that she is going to be able to continue to participate fully, to be able to vote on things.

It just sort of seems like she's kind of kept out of the cool kids table for a little bit.

But I just think it's really unfortunate.

It seems petty, and it really, I think, takes away from the voice of the voters that put her there in the first place, because they know what they were getting.

Yeah.

Explain the campaign that she was critical about.

Yeah.

So it was this campaign, that sort of was talking about, I think, higher concentrate cannabis and in sort of the lead up, you know, in the materials and mind you, you know, this is like the University of Colorado is like 63% white folks, like 3% black people.

And it's like all black people, you know, and especially darker skinned black folks like using cannabis and words like sort of lazy and all this stuff are flashing on the screen.

And she, I think call them out for, for doing that.

And they promptly, I think, retooled it.

I actually looked at it today.

It's, you know, it's it's looking a little bit better.

But this is the exact thing that her voters sent her there to do.

They wanted her to be a disruptor.

They knew what they were getting.

And so for kind of, you know, the inside crowd at the Regents to silence her, her just doesn't seem appropriate.

You know, whether you agree or disagree with her or her tactics.

Okay, Chris.

Well, I'm going to pivot to Du and Chancellor, Jeremy Hefner, is the chancellor there?

There was a vote of no confidence by the faculty.

I've worked in higher education before, and there's often a rub between faculty and administration that exists.

The complaints were that he is not managing the school well financially.

Of course, there have been cuts there, but the school is facing the same kind of cuts that every university and college is facing right now.

You know, he did make a comment that he was criticized for.

He he issued a statement after there was a pro-Palestinian, protest, an encampment on campus, and he said, we value free speech.

However, I'd like this encampment to disband for safety reasons.

And he was highly criticized for that.

And often it's social issues that really will rile up a faculty.

I was the communications officer at a, state school here in Colorado, university.

And, the faculty took a vote of no confidence against the president there.

He was gone within six months.

And statistically, it's about 50% of universities.

When the faculty takes a vote of no confidence, the administrator in the target is gone within 6 to 12 months.

It's unfortunate, because once that vote takes place, it is detrimental to everything on that campus.

In fact, instead of rectifying the financial situation, it ends up hurting the university more because there's no focus on recruitment or retaining retention or, even student success.

So overall it's detrimental.

It's not good news for do and do you says he's not going anywhere.

This is kind of a reason for us all to talk about some of these issues.

In this case he does have the support of the board of trustees, which which is pretty significant.

So he may end up saying, okay, well, they're also looking at the fact that they're not going to be having as many foreign students.

So you're looking at the budget cuts that are also going to come to these universities.

But I want to go back to Wanda James.

We broke that story when she was upset about the campaign put out by C.U.

Health Sciences, called the T and THC, and it did have very stereotypical image imagery of black people.

Now, some of the stats were true that black people were affected by the use of.

But so so are other people.

And it was just it wasn't a great campaign.

She complained about it.

We wrote about it.

It was changed immediately.

So if it was a great campaign, why was it changed?

You know, she does have a lot of friends in high places, but she's in a high place too, and she was elected to that spot.

She's a really interesting voice in the C regions, which doesn't always have a lot of interesting voices, but has certainly had people act out before who did not get the punishment.

She did, which is very much like, you can't say you're a regent if you go to a regent party or something.

It's it's silly.

And so they should have dealt with this in a different way.

Okay.

And, Eric, I will start by agreeing with Tyrone in the sense of Wanda.

James is who Wanda James is, and there should be no secret about that.

It bothers me to extent throughout her career and in this circumstance as well, in which she makes every issue about race.

It is race 20 473 65.

But to accept her version of events is basically to say that the president of you, who's a former Democratic state legislature, that the board chair of the Board of Regents of FCU, who is also a Democrat, that the majority of that board of Regents who are Democrats, on down the line, that they are all a stacked deck, that this is all sort of a hatchet job to silence her.

And that is, that's more than I am really willing to believe about a number of these people who I think are fundamentally well intentioned and thought in this case and and others, that she takes it too far.

You can watch our full episode of Colorado Inside Out any time at PBS, 12.org, on the PBS passport app or on our YouTube channel.

And our show is also a podcast, so you can find that on Spotify and Apple Podcasts any, anytime as well.

We're already working on this week's CIO, so tune in Friday at eight here on PBS 12.

And here's some valuable context to all that is happening around us.

Studies show that kids who spend time outdoors experienced lower stress, better focus, and improved overall health.

To help more families access these benefits, there is a nonprofit called Generation Wild that is partnering with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and get outdoors Colorado, working to remove cost barriers for families and make outdoor adventures more accessible.

PBS Twelve's Erica McLarty took her own kids along to see the program.

Take a look.

I want to catch another dragonfly generation.

While there's a movement across the state of Colorado to get more kids and families outdoors.

It was created by Great Outdoors Colorado, which is a foundation of the state that invests a portion of the lottery proceeds into outdoor recreation and conservation projects across the state.

And then we also have our statewide communications, social change campaign that is all about bringing easy tips for parents across the state of Colorado to get outdoors with their kids any time of year.

I think there's some of their Generation Wild campaign is designed to.

The program works in schools, libraries and state parks like this one.

So I think what's really unique about Cherry Creek, we're in the heart of Aurora, so we're an urban park.

So we often have to balance capacity and in protecting our natural resources.

And if you're a parent that wants to get your kids outside, but he help figuring out what to do with them.

Generation wild 100 things to do before your 12 list gives you plenty of ideas.

An easy guide you can do right outside your front door at a local city or state park.

Today, we've explored Cherry Creek State Park with some birdwatching.

Wow, looks so pretty!

It looks like at last we created our own fossils.

We've also looked at some of the different plants that are here and done.

Some leaf rubbings.

Visiting a state park is a great way to just go on an easy nature hike through the woods to explore and listen to the bird calls and see what you can find.

Cool.

Yeah.

Well, you know, it's been a great partnership to be with Gogo Generation Wild.

Just inspiring people to learn about the outdoors and knowing that you can do all these fun things.

And it doesn't cost any money.

Digging a castle or rubbing leaves or, you know, just having that partnership to engage people of all ages in all walks of life.

Oh, look at this.

Flowers.

You're so pretty.

We're all so busy in our lives.

Parents are busy with work and driving kids to and from activities before and after school, and kids lives are busy.

But it really only takes five, ten, 20 minutes spending that time each day outside.

We'll see benefits in kids with reduced stress and the earlier we get them exposed to spending time in nature, it's been proven that they will become lifelong lovers of spending time outdoors, and are more likely to spend that time for their own personal health.

Find a piece of work to your day.

You know some kids families, they may not know where to go.

They may not feel like they have the equipment.

You know, there are a lot of activities in Colorado where you feel like you have to have the best gear to be able to go do those, and that's just not the case.

And if getting the gear feels like a barrier to you, don't worry.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has stuff you can rent.

You can also go to your local library and get a backpack of gear.

So we headed to our local library to check out the Generation Wild Adventure Backpack.

It's free to any child making outdoor access more affordable for families.

It was easy to do and had all kinds of great things in it, like a state park pass.

Nature guides, hiking poles, walkie talkies, binoculars, and more.

You want to go and learn about boating.

We have life jackets and canoes and kayaks and paddle.

If you want to do birding, we partnered with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

They have binoculars and bird books.

If you want to learn archery.

We have our own archery trailer.

So what?

That shouldn't be a barrier to anybody.

And for those kids that, well, are still asking for a screen.

Colorado State Parks and Wildlife has an app for that.

So we have an app called Agents of Discovery.

You can download it for free.

And on there, it's kind of like Pokemon Go.

So we make admissions and the missions are challenges.

And you go and you you go and you walk a trail and it pops up on your phone.

So you're using your phone for good.

So you're learning about the park or learning about nature.

And then at the end you can go to our our visitor center in the campground and get a special prize.

You can start simple, like reading a book under a tree using a fallen tree trunk as a balance beam, looking for insects, or like maybe going ice skating or fishing.

And then there's even hike a 14 are on there, which is a really Colorado activity to do.

It might be a little bit of a stretch, so you can always start somewhere easy on the 100 things to do that.

Well did you see the giant white bird?

It's really close up.

It looks, and it had pretty long legs and it's got a youthful beak.

There are been studies on the brain that show that spending time outdoors, you have less rudimental session on those kind of negative thoughts.

And it helps be kind of a place where there's less stress and you can come as a solace.

And so even if you only get to spend five, ten minutes outside, walking through a park, that is something that will bring lots of benefits to your day.

So it's kind of over there.

Generation wild is really investing and creating that next generation of kids who are going to care about the environment.

They're going to be those champions for recycling, but also champions for our public lands.

So whether it's hunting for leaves or befriending a bug.

So to you, I don't know that there was that label Generation Wild Cruise.

You don't need a fancy trip to have a wild time outdoors.

This is the coolest place ever for kids.

Well, I'm Erica McClaugherty.

for more information on Generation Wild and to download their free 100.

Things to do before you turn 12 list you can go to Generation wild.com.

And for more tips for parents, head to Generation Wild's Instagram page.

Next up, as part of our heart of the West series celebrating local artists, we're taking you inside the colorful world of stained glass, art and into the garage studio of Colorado artist Mark Stein.

We talked with Mark about his life and career as a stained glass artist, with big projects like the one he's completed at Buckley Air Force Chapel, to custom pieces that shine in homes across the world.

When I'm out here during the summer, my friends, my neighbors come by and watch for a while.

It's very nice.

My iPod is my most prized possession.

I get all my, music from basically the public library, and my cassettes go even further back, and I've just never really thrown them away.

But I certainly don't really listen to the man.

Him or, you know, I listen to a lot of different kinds of music today.

A lot of music has a very simplistic melody.

I like a cappella.

I like classic rock and roll.

I like Western music, not country, but Western music.

You know, about the cowboy and, rodeo, that kind of music.

When I was ten years old, my dad and two of my uncles took a class and adult class and stained glass.

My father had bought the tools and supplies.

So at the age of 11, I started teaching myself, with getting started by my uncle.

But the method I use today is what I came up with pretty much on my own.

I was destined to go to med school.

I was a microbiology major in college.

I was already making stained glass all the time and as a summer job.

And so I thought, I'll do stained glass professionally for a year.

And I've always loved it, and I just never went back.

And I struggled before the internet.

There were times I worked a a second job because I struggled to make enough money.

That stained glass.

Yeah, I love to show these off because they are pretty cool.

My parents used to say, oh Mark, go get your late.

Your latest thing and show these people.

It was also difficult for them because they were they were frightened from the first moment that I would make a career out of this.

They wanted the best for me and they were, convinced without really knowing, but still very sure of the fact that I would struggle all my life if I chose arts over medicine.

I've never had an art class in my life.

I mean, I've studied enough about art on my own that I'm able to design for my clients, but I couldn't sketch a face if my life depended on it.

So I'm kind of a one trick pony.

Not exactly okay.

For me, the internet was a real savior because my work went from local to national.

One morning about 20 years ago, I got a phone call from an Air Force architect.

I met with them at about noon, and by 1230 I had $100,000 commission, which I completed in six months.

The scale of it was a challenge.

It was 47 windows, large windows.

It's in the main chapel at the Chapel Center at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora.

I just like to say I submitted 13 designs.

They picked the one I liked the least.

I can see that's going to be the problem.

Stained glass can be very frustrating.

Ball of clay.

You can pull it out a thousand times on the wheel until you learn how to do it.

But stained glass is expensive.

The materials, the glass, etc.

is expensive and once you scratch a line on the glass, there's no taking it away.

There's no going back.

There are a number of moments that are better than others.

Grinding is drudgery.

Working with the clients is definitely one of the high points.

Putting in the windows is definitely one of the high points when you stand back and you and you're, you know, you're impressed by your own creation and your client is equally, you know, aghast at how great it comes out.

This is going to go in the front door of this home in Houston.

And stained glass grabs a lot of people because it's colorful and, and it's got the, the light, the play of light that's come in through the glass.

There's a lot about art that I don't know.

I know what I like.

I spent lots of hours in the library looking at art books.

Up there in the window.

You can see what I started making when I was 11.

The butterfly, the skier, little sun catchers.

I was captivated by it immediately.

I consider myself extremely lucky that I make my living at basically this hobby that I took up when I was ten years old that I fell in love with.

How did I become who I am?

And really, it's so circumstantial.

If my dad hadn't taken this class, I never would have touched a glass cutter in my whole life, I'm sure.

And I love my life.

I never set an alarm clock, and I never drive rush hour traffic.

You know, it's been so rewarding, the the work that I do for people and the life that I live because of it.

see more of his designs, head to TD Stained Glass Dot-Com.

And stay tuned for more in our heart of the West series as we continue to spotlight Colorado artists here on studio 12.

And to end our show tonight, they have a new Americana sound mixed with soulful vocals.

It's a little funk and a lot of soul.

We present to you Durango based band Desert Child as they rock out at Globe Hall.

Thank you for watching studio 12.

Be sure to follow us on social media and on YouTube.

We'll see you next Tuesday night at 8:00.

Until then, have a great week.

I'm Ryan Hare.

When I wake in, I take my time right away.

Let it come to me.

Can I play within this in my stride?

When I'm spending more than I can never be.

It's not a race I can't see.

Keep on running.

Wheels are spinning up.

Myths make sense.

It's in front of me.

But I can't catch.

Keep up.

Keep on missing.

I can't catch my breath.

Don't think I might miss it.

Shape shifting.

Take.

Keep it together.

Don't think I miss it.

Shape shifting.

So twisted together.

Well, today the sun is burning hard.

Can't find the shade.

He will never stop.

You move so fast.

Trying to slow it down.

But it can't land.

With my feet on the ground.

On your way I can feel it.

Come to me.

It's getting clear.

My heart is making space.

In-between is getting closer.

All I need to keep my focus is on your heart.

Lay.

Don't blink.

I miss it.

Shape shifting day.

Keep it together.

Don't make my this.

Shape shifting soft.

Twisted.

To get.

One more time.

Here doesn't drive.

I'm dead headed.

This is I, Newman.

Car key on the keys.

The wonderful.

I like maze.

Big Red on the big red bass.

And Coach Brian.

I. I don't blink.

I miss it.

Shape shifting.

Can't keep it together.

Don't break.

I miss seeing shape shifting.

It's all twisted together.

Take me on your way.

I can feel proud to be standing here.

This day.

Me.

In between is getting harder.

As I keep my flow.

I know how to make it.

Don't blink.

I miss seeing shape shifting.

Can't keep it together.

It don't break.

I miss it shape shifting.

It's all twisted together.

You.

The harmonies of the Eagles was formative for you all.

And you and your band sound like.

What other bands would you have looked to as influences, even though you played?

I mean, you've been playing all these covers, but like, who would be like for The sound of Desert Child?

Like, every band has their own influences.

There's six of us with All pretty we go, but we just like where we can find where we can come together in the middle, create something new for us.

It's like a new sound and I have a hard time defining it.

It's a rock based music, but there's elements of soul.

There's elements of, yeah, it's like witchy and like kind of like pop pop sensibility.

So it's like, you know, I think the classic rock bands of the 60s and 70s like got it right with their energy, but just the timing and like, I think what men are putting out there at the time, it's like, you know, the rock star thing is kind of it's kind of a not that time anymore.

I just think, like, we love each other.

We're like a group of men with this background.

We're not going to sing around, sing about like groupies.

We don't have groupies.

We don't do that.

So, you know, we have partners and we but we also, you know, we're trying to connect with, like, a sensuality within ourselves that is, I think, hard to find in six men that are aligned in that.

So I think there's a lot of feminine energy in our band.

And at the same time, we're six bearded dudes playing, you know, soul, southwest soul is that we're kind of trying to call it.

We're trying to brand it, you know?

Living in the memory of your gift.

Well, I can't forget a moment just like it.

And I'll be living in the memory of your touch.

And my dreaming.

Will I forget to stay as long?

Hold on.

Solid back time.

Hold on as I search for you.

Hold on and I'll make you mine.

Hold on I belong to you.

Here comes a day when I run into you.

Am I standing in the presence of God in each other?

Well, I say sorry.

I've been host.

It's okay if you.

Could hold up.

It was worth it.

Yes.

It's fine.

I'll wait for you.

Hold on.

If I go back to your time.

Hold up.

Did I search for you?

Hold up and I'll make you mine.

Hold on.

I belong to you.

Hold on.

You gotta believe in me.

Hold on me.

We've been through.

Hold on.

You remember me.

Hold on.

I remember you.

Staring at you in the past.

Like something out the stone.

It feels like when I see you in the moonlight.

I'm Amarillo.

I'm meant to be.

That's right.

Something about this moment feels like.

When I see you in the moonlight.

I remember it all.

Now who am I to say?

Well, maybe I was wrong.

And who was up above me.

When all your love was gone.

And who am I to say that maybe I was wrong?

Am I to come?

Hold on.

Hold on, hold on, hold on.

Sarah Mitchell last night talked about this moment.

It's night when I see you in the night.

I remember the night.

Sarah met you.

That's like something from a hope.

It feels like when I see you tonight.

I remember it all.

It's hard to tell.

Dark night.

But you love me in a first light.

When I look into your eyes.

You remember.

You know.

But.

You.