WILD ROCKIES

May 2025 Newsletter

Colorado Plateau Final Presentations

May 31 • 10:30am Mountain Time • In-Person or Virtual

Join our 2025 Colorado Plateau students this Saturday as they present their final course projects. They will share stories and information from the transformative nine weeks they spent exploring the canyons, washes, and rivers of the Colorado Plateau! You can join us virtually on Zoom or in person at the John Wesley Powell Museum in Green River, UT at 10:30am Mountain Time.

We will be recording the presentation for those who can’t make it! Send us an email at wrfi@wrfi.net and we will send you the recording.

Meet Our Instructor Team!

Natalie Dawson has been an instructor with WRFI since 2009, back when we were running courses in Alaska! Her experience as a biologist, passion for building community, and energy for participating in impactful projects are just a few of the qualities that make her an invaluable member of our team. If you take a WRFI semester course these days - Colorado Plateau or Montana Afoot & Afloat - you just might get lucky enough to learn from and with Natalie!

WRFI's Spring Raffle

Tickets: $20 each or 6 for $100

Missoula Friends: Join Us on Saturday, 5/31!

WRFI’s Spring Raffle is PACKED with prizes, and we’re only selling 200 tickets!

Tickets are 1 for $20 or 6 for $100. Prize packages include a backpacking kit from Kelty, ($500 value), REI goodies ($250 value), a variety pack provided by Trails Magazine ($250 value), and WRFI swag ($100 value).

To purchase your tickets, send a check or money order to our office at:

Wild Rockies Field Institute

P.O. Box 7071

Missoula, MT 59807

Missoula: We'll be tabling + selling raffle tickets at the Clark Fork Market

this Saturday from 8am-1pm - we'd love for you to come say hi!

101 Carousel Dr, Missoula, MT 59802

Act fast before they’re gone! 🔥

Fresh From the Field: Abby Olson

Weaving a Future

Abby’s new blog post explores the connection between age-old Navajo practices and the many changes we’re experiencing in our society today. This is one of the most valuable lessons we learn at WRFI - that honoring traditional knowledge can lead us into a sustainable, united future.

Read the full story at the link below.

Lock In 2025 Pricing 🔒

Apply by July 1st to Save in 2026!

Submit your WRFI application and enroll in a 2026 course prior to July 1st to lock in 2025 pricing!

Questions about applications and course pricing can be directed to Kelsey, our Student Experience Manager, at kelsey.wellington@wrfi.net.

Our team is ready and excited to guide you through this process so that you can think outside the classroom and have the best summer ever in 2026. Apply today!

Scholarship Highlight: Matt Thomas Scholarship

Open to Montana Afoot & Afloat Students

The Matt Thomas Scholarship Fund grants merit-based scholarships each year to students who clearly embody Matt’s ideals and visions. As an instructor, Matt consistently encouraged his students to consider human/land relations from multiple cultural and historical perspectives, to develop a personal philosophy for living well with the land, and to examine themselves and their interactions with the land. In his personal life Matt was dedicated to local politics, environmental and river advocacy, and the study of eco-feminism and sustainable human/land relations.

This year, we have one $5,000 scholarship available, two $2,500 scholarships, and one $1,000 scholarship available through The Matt Thomas Scholarship Fund. They’re first-come, first-serve, so apply asap or reach out to kelsey.wellington@wrfi.net if you have questions!

WRFI co-founder Matt Thomas