Western National Parks supports transformative field trip to Pecos National Historical Park
Teacher Debbie Luevano connected students with New Mexico’s landscapes and heritage with a 2024 – 2025 James E. Cook Nature’s Classroom Grant.
Visiting a national park is an opportunity to connect with the many landscapes, histories, and cultures that have shaped our country. But not everyone has access to these incredibly important places. The vast majority of students at University High School in Roswell, New Mexico, had not only never visited a national park, but many of them had never left the small city.
With support from WNP, Luevano coordinated a field trip to Pecos National Historical Park for 27 eleventh-and-twelfth grade students. The goal of the trip was to give the students the opportunity to connect the cultural and ecological history of the region with Indigenous and Spanish colonial histories through guided tours of the park and through discussions with park rangers. This trip was also a unique and special experience for those who attended.
“Roswell provides limited access to any type of outdoor experience...most students have never even left the Roswell city limits...Providing this opportunity
opens the doors to a bigger world for the majority of our students .”—Debbie Luevano, teacher
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Walking through history
The trip to Pecos allowed students to gain a better understanding of New Mexico’s past, present, and future and create a “greater respect and admiration for those who went before us.”
During their time at Pecos, students experienced the old mission church and ceremonial kivas preserved at the park, as well as the park’s museum. They also had discussions with a park ranger and volunteer staff who helped restore the adobe blocks that make up the buildings protected by the park. Students learned about how Pecos was a cultural crossroads for generations, and how Indigenous communities were impacted by the arrival of the Spanish and other settlers.
“The best part for most students was walking through the monuments and going through the kivas. They were very excited to climb down and take pictures and imagine what life would have been like living in such a structure and living off the land.”—Debbie Luevano, teacher
Sparking an interest in National Park Service careers
Other students were very excited by the idea that they could eventually work for or with the National Park Service or volunteer to help restore the monument. Many of the students at University High School work part or full-time jobs to support their families—and visiting the park opened up new career paths for them to potentially explore.
The students will continue to reflect on their time at Pecos by creating oil paintings of their experiences and what impacted them the most during their visit.
"[Student] Mya...expressed she is able to recognize how
different cultures [found at the park] resemble her family background."—Debbie Luevano, teacher
WNP is proud to have supported this deeply enriching and transformative field trip. To learn more about the James E. Cook Classroom Grant, including guidelines for applying and deadlines, visit the awards, grants, and scholarships page here.
