Colorado Mountain College Leadville has stepped up to provide land on its campus so that Get Outdoors Leadville! can build a community gear library and hub where locals can check out equipment like camping gear, snowshoes and bikes, and have access to outdoor recreation skills training.
Great Outdoors Leadville!, also known as GOL!, works to connect youth and families to the outdoors across Lake County by increasing opportunity and decreasing barriers for connection to the natural world. GOL! is a project of Lake County Public Health Agency.
The Gear Library project is funded primarily by an Inspire Initiative grant awarded to Lake County from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). Through CMC’s provision of land and technical expertise, GOL! can apply more of the grant dollars to the design and construction of the community gear hub.
“The Gear Library will be a resource for all members of Leadville-Lake County,” said Beth Helmke, director of GOL!. “The community identified lack of access to gear as one of the barriers to connecting with the outdoors. The Gear Library will allow people to engage in new outdoor activities by providing equipment and instruction.”
“We’re supporting their vision and efforts for a healthier, more active Leadville, because part of our job is to support the community to be the best it can be,” said Rachel Pokrandt, CMC vice president and campus dean for Leadville and Chaffee County.
“The gear hub will also provide a great opportunity for our students to work with and for GOL!,” Pokrandt said. The hub will be built as an annex to CMC’s Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center.
“The location is perfect, with trails right out the door,” said Helmke. “We appreciate the incredible professional and in-kind support being provided by the CMC administration, which will really optimize the design and construction process.”
Plans are to have a design for the gear hub approved by April, with construction commencing in early summer. The goal is to have the Gear Library fully operational in its new building in early 2019.
For more information, contact Beth Helmke at 719-293-5737 or bhelmke@co.lake.co.us.