RIO GRANDE COUNTY — For the second year in a row, Rio Grande County Weed District Director Armando Ross will be working with local schools to educate people on proper noxious weed regulations through interactive and hands-on learning.

“One of the things we are trying to change is how we approach weed mitigation and control. We are trying to get away from just writing someone a ticket, we want to educate and encourage weed management in the county and the students have helped us accomplish that,” said Ross.

Last February, after working with students through a special, voluntary program with Monte Vista High School, Ross and a group of four students presented their final projects to Rio Grande County Commissioners before being presented with scholarship awards. The participating students spent several months after school and on weekends programing and ultimately printing 3D models of noxious weeds that are used to educate the public during events and educational outreach opportunities.

This year, Ross will once again work with students at Monte Vista High School to create more models that will be used for outreach and will be awarding scholarships to the students that participate. Scholarship funding comes through grant opportunities with the San Luis Valley Weed Management Association which also provides funding opportunities for the weed management program in Rio Grande County to be successful.

“I think the county is looking nice. We have done a lot of work in Del Norte, South Fork and Monte Vista. We have printed and handed out pamphlets, fliers and books about noxious weeds and the educational approach we are taking seems to be paying off. We do not want what happened in Boulder to happen here and we got close this last spring. It is important to know what noxious weeds are and how dangerous they can be. We are making a lot of progress though and it is nice to see,” said Ross.

Ross is looking to expand his educational program to other schools and will be working with the Upper Rio Grande School District’s aquaponics class. The aquaponics program at the Upper Rio Grande School District offers students the opportunity to learn about the world of plants and fish and the contrast of the natural world verses indoor growing processes.

The class will be growing different species of noxious weeds and learning about the process in which they germinate, grow, and spread. Through their learning process, students will be providing helpful insights into how these plants affect their environments. All the data collected will be used to further educational opportunities through Ross’s noxious weed management program. Each student participating can apply for the scholarship awards issued at the end of the school year.

Ross also provides summer job opportunities to area youth and is in the process of hiring for the summer of 2023. The program includes training and certification for those wishing to participate. For more information, contact Ross at [email protected].