Our bus scholarship fund makes field trips to the refuge affordable.
The Friends of Bosque del Apache is pleased to offer bus scholarships to defray some of the travel costs for schools to visit the refuge. In coordination with the family of G. Emerson Learn III and his wife Cheryl, the Friends established the Emerson & Cheryl Learn Scholarship Fund. This has allowed Friends to create a permanent fund to provide stipends for New Mexico schools to visit the refuge. Our bus scholarship program, which has been active for several years, allows more than 500 students and teachers to visit each year. Now thanks to the Learn family, we will be able to ensure that this crucial funding will remain available in the future. We know that without this funding many schools would not be able to make this educational trip in the coming years, and we believe that a guided tour by one of the refuge staff or trained volunteers is an invaluable experience for children. Schools must fill out a questionnaire to explain what they hope to learn from their visit and how it fits into their curriculum objectives.