The Aspen School District’s Outdoor Ed program has been alive and well for over 50 years. Since the first trip embarked upon in 1968, our students have been hiking, skinning, using Aspen trees for sunscreen, camping and surviving a solo. The results: determination, tenacity and a love for our great outdoors. Outdoor Ed is at the heart and soul of public education in Aspen. Our goal is to endow Outdoor Ed so that all future generations have access to this life-changing experience and program.
THE ENDOWMENT
At AEF, we want to ensure that Outdoor Ed/ExEd never gets cut from the school budget. We NEED your help. If 50 years of alumni can come together – we can ensure that our future generations will have the same ODE/ExEd experience. With a fast-changing, digital world, the experience of the outdoors is as important as ever.

This year, Bernard Pausback, one of the founding teachers of our legendary 8th grade ODE trip passed away. Bernie and his family would often reflect on the incredible program and how it has survived the changing climate of public education, high stakes testing, and standards driven curriculum. The survival of the program has been dependent on new generations of educators and community members who value the combination of soft skills, collaboration, and confidence that these programs have instilled in over 50 years of ASD students.
In honor of Bernie, if you are an alum of the Aspen Outdoor Education program, please consider making a $24 donation to the Aspen Outdoor Education Fund in his memory. This is one dollar for every hour of your 8th grade solo experience. For extra credit, throw in an extra $10 for every pushup you claim to have done during the infamous “Jog and Dip.” In the comments, please include the year that you participated, which route your patrol took to get to Marble, and how many pushups you managed.
Thank you to our growing list of endowment supporters
Connor Allen
Finn Allen
Kim and Paddy Allen
Carolyn Cerise Barabe
Brigitte Birrfelder
Elizabeth and Stuart Bohart
Olivia Bond
Mae Bory
Stephanie Braudis
Kimbo Brown-Schirato
Carla Buffulin
Alexander Bush
Marla Butler
Catherine Chamberlin
Kendall Clark
Terri Cluck
Kathy Conley
Isabella Courtenay-Morris
Shayla DeYoung
Bente Doolan
Ashlyn Dunn
Kristen and Steve Fitzgerald
Tim & Ginna Francis
Jenah Fuechsel
John Galambos
Marta Galambos
Christy Garfield
Sarah Graber
Muriel Greening
Missy Greis
Donna and John Halverson
David Hatch
Selby Hall
Elizabeth Hansen
Sacha and Kirk Hinderberger
Jamie Horn
Jonah Horowitz
Maria Jennings
Kerri Johnson
Nick Kern
Mackenzie Langley
Georgina Levey
Rachel Levy
Melony and Adam Lewis
Beyron Lindenau
Reghan Mahaffey
Tom Markalunas
Katie and Hugh Marsh
Karina Marx
Jennifer and Joe Mason
Max Marolt
Elizabeth McGann
Katie McManus
Valerie Miller
Deborah Murphy
Virginia Myers
Annie Pausback
Joe Pausback
The Penner Family Foundation
Denise Petrash
Tanja Poirier
Becky Potter
Anita Rayburn
Graciela Robertson
Rebecca Robinson
Hunter Ross
Mollie Rusher
Heather Ryerson
Claudia Salmeron
Layne Shea
Sarah and Richard Shaw
Kalli Gustafson Sinclair
Noah Shore
Olivia Snyder
Andrea Soonthornswad
Elizabeth Stewart-Severy
Maggi Thompson
Margie Throm
Gina and Andrew Turchin
Noelani and William Vonstocken
Alison Weems
Karin Wehse
Alex Wells
Alan Whitaker
Beth and Pierre Wille
Marusya Yeghinyan
Alexander Yeiser
Jessie Young