From America' first jet ejection seat factory.

To local shops and community events.

This historic building has lived many lives and is still thriving.

We're taking you inside the Stanley Marketplace.

Then on the Family Beat, we're talking less of scree time and more green time.

Why?

Doctors say going outside may be one of the healthiest things parents can do for their kids brains.

We'll sit down with Colorado's new poet laureate to talk about the power of storytelling, community and inspirin the next generation of writers.

Plus, Kyle Dyer puts her ar skills to the test as she swaps doodles and conversations with election expert Amber McReynolds and will meet young musicians who are finding their confidence.

One note at a time, that's all ahead.

Colorado Storie from studio 12 starts right now from the Five Points Media Center in the heart of Denver, Colorado.

This is studio 12.

Hi, I'm Bob Kanani and I'm Ryan here.

Thanks for joining us fo Colorado Stories from studio 12.

It was once the birthplace of one of America's greatest aviation innovations, a factory where the jet ejection seat was invented and tested.

Today, that same historic building has been transformed into one of Colorado' most vibrant gathering places.

As Stanley Marketplac celebrates its 10th anniversary, it's proving that preserving history and investing in local businesses can create something much bigger than retail.

On tonight's Business of Colorado, Frannie Matthews takes us inside the remarkable evolution of this aurora landmark.

When you see Bob Stanley here you know he was a fighter pilot.

You know, in World War Two.

He would.

Yeah.

World War two.

The first person to fly.

The first.

The first jet.

America's first jet.

Wow.

Which is crazy for me.

Well, we are here today at Stanley Marketplace, and I've been joined by Jonathan Alpert.

And Jonathan, you're with Westfield, the developer of Stanley Markets.

I am yes we are one of the partners who came in to the original project to to for our expertise on the development side.

Well, Stanley marketplace is, 140,000ft of retail and restaurant space.

You walked in here ten years ago, and it looked a lot different than it does now.

Very different.

Yeah, we we got involved in the project in 2015.

And, you know, again, the founders of the project, Flightline Ventures, had been in the market looking for the right development partner to help with financing, help with development, you know, the construction component and just help with the overall eventual management of the project.

In 2015, this building looked entirely different.

It was, you know, it had been closed for some time and it was dilapidated.

It was falling apart to a certain degree.

But I mean, the vision was established and created and ready to go.

So we knew ultimately what it would look like.

But upon first walk through, it was a bit daunting.

Well, before it was vacant.

What was it?

So the history of Stanley, yo know, it was, Stanley Aviation.

So the jet ejection seat was created here, manufactured here, tested here.

And, you know, you still see a lot of that is within the design of the property.

Those bones, though, they have not been modified.

You know, we the signage is still there.

You see the you see the runway, the connection to that.

Well, here's the runway.

I'm sorry.

Right.

The hangar facing west to all of our open space, but connecting up to the old airport, the beautiful part of the building.

And the opportunity for us was to pay homage to that and the innovation and the entrepreneurship that occurred here.

And it was our opportunity to carry that on.

I think about this as you walk in and you, make a commitment to this project, how you looked at this, because it's not a typical real estate transaction.

Far from it, far, far from it.

And, you know, it was it was interesting when we first got involved, you know, my my background in real estate, a ten, 15 years prior to getting involved in this project, especially as we retail, you know, there are there are rule that you know, so-called rules, traffic counts, visibility, easy access.

We had none of that.

But that's also what made it so special and so opportune.

Was that in that time, in that 201 era, the notion of market places and those kind of developments were were starting to happen.

And so this was the perfect place for it has an extraordinary community that surrounds it, has a phenomenal city with Aurora.

You know, standing behind us to make sure it could happen.

So it really was timing is everything.

And it was it was the right time to to break those rules.

There was it was really a partnership with the city, wasn't it.

Huge, huge partnership.

And it remains today.

So this is the wall of history for this building.

I just find it reall fascinating starting in 19 1912.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well and it's you know, it's it's what's so great about I mean there's so many thing that are amazing about this, but a big piece of it is that this is also, as we've talked about, like our collaboration in our in our partnership with the city of Aurora.

This is through the, you know, the Aurora Public Library, right.

Like they have all this information.

And so we we have a lot of the detail.

Like we wouldn't be able to pick this up ourselves.

This is supported and helped by the city and, you know, and all of their great departments to put this together and allow us to be able to showcase this stuff.

Huge draw for us was coming into this project that the the vision had been established and a lot of the tenancy had already been establishe and we fell in love with that.

Again, you come to a property that looks very different than it does today.

I mean, there's there's weeds everywhere.

There's a chain link fence that's falling apart, falling down and, you know, it looks, you know looks a bit like a ghost town.

So again, a bit daunting in terms of like, yeah, I see the vision, but can it really happen?

This has something so unique that we believe in that and we can get that done.

It's a community for the people that want to break that.

The so-called rules.

Right This is not traditional retail.

This is not a traditional community center.

It's it's everything different to that.

And again, that's what made it special.

It was filling a void for the central Park neighborhood of, you know, local businesses and local retail, local food and beverage establishments that, you know, this, this unbelievable community was craving.

And, you know, you had to either go downtown or elsewher in the metro area to get that.

There was really nothing for them at their front door.

You know.

You.

I decided to open my own tea cafe and it's called that Peach Cafe.

And we specialize in quality ingredients and all of our drinks.

So we don't use any artificial powders or sirups, unlike all the other tea shops in numbers.

So I wanted to bring something really unique to the Omni.

We have tenants that have started, as you know, an employee at a restaurant and then opened their own business totally separate from that.

So again it's that that opportunity to, I mean, change your life to fulfill those dreams.

Like, I'm just I'm so proud to be a part of that.

It's created a marketplac and a community that is beloved.

You can feel it when you're walking through the building.

If you believe in that collaboration and being a focal part of this community and way that you kno that comes with responsibility, and this is a dynamic place that changes daily, responds to the needs of the community as the world changes.

But you either buy the that or you don't.

What percentage of your curren tenants were original tenants?

We are sitting at just over 50% of the original 50 plus tenants are still here.

I mean, it speaks to the community that supports us every day.

That shows up every day without them.

Obviously we, you know, we don't exist, our tenants don't exist.

So we have that really, reall strong community that is always continues to show up.

But it's also speaks to those tenants.

It's they have chosen to show up every day, which is which is not easy.

You know, a lot of a lot of ou tenants are single proprietors, you know, mom and pop so-called retail tenants that, you know, thi is putting food on their table.

This is not necessarily for fun or big backing by a national corporation where this is one of many stores that has support, right?

This is their one and only business and they live and die by that.

And that' I mean, we take that seriously.

And so obviously we are here to support them as well.

But they have to show up every day, which, you know, we had Covid, you know, we had a couple of years of the pandemi in the middle of this project.

You know, we're sitting here at ten years at year five, you know we all show up in March of 2020 and we can't operate as expected intended and had really no idea how to handle it.

Are we a place where people gather?

Well, maybe yeah, people come to show up, but we also have individual tenants in here that need to open their doors.

So, it's been it's extraordinary.

Right?

It's been incredible.

Incredible to watch how people not not only the community again, those people that, you know, bring out their wallets to support us, how they showed up during th pandemic and still to this day, but how the tenants showed up.

Yeah I mean, 2020 came out of nowhere and none of u could have been prepared for it.

But I feel like Stanley really helped u and gave us avenues for support, as well as meetings as well a ideas that we could make money and keep our businesses going even during such a scary time.

I mean, we got super creative.

We have, you know, we we delivered goods to the to the neighborhood or to Central Park, with a little tough talk.

You know, one of our founders was out there doing that.

We did drive thrus, you know, where, you know all right, that works for food and beverage.

But how does it drive for work for, you know, a florist or a, you know, somebody selling t shirts.

So we created and tried an tried and tried different ways to to keep businesses ope and to keep them thriving again.

That's that collaboration.

There must have been a little bit of humor through all of that, bu also just the, the understanding of of dependance between, tenants.

And I love it.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And yeah, I mean, that's that that's so I mean, that' what a market place is, right?

You know, everyon takes care of each other, and, you know, the restauran that gets a lot of traffic is, you know, supporting the retailer that, you know, needs that traffic and vice versa.

We're independently owned businesses here in the local community.

We help each other with our businesses rather than competing and fighting for customers.

We help each other because when we all do well, we do really well for the whole community.

Why we fell in love with Stanley early on was we had room to expand and to move, which, I mean, we certainly didn't kno a pandemic pandemic was coming.

But having that open space allowed us to move outside the building and put tents up and create that, you know, create those spaces for business to continue where otherwise, you know you would have been constrained.

You're dedicated to activation, and that is absolutely critical.

Yeah.

I mean, our we always talk about it as a team internally on the operations side is our goal amongst many.

But it is is that you could show up to Stanle any day, any time, and something unique is happening and something different, something unexpected.

So yeah, I mean, you may have been here last week or a month ago or a year ago, and some of those same tenants may be here.

Right?

We have consistent consistency amongst our tendency that a lot of the same tenants are here, but we are constantly responding to what is the community want, how do they you know, and w and we are very strong in that.

We want to be a place fo the community to come together.

And and again, we have that luxury.

We have the space to do it.

That's it's it's an incredible story.

And now you're celebrating ten years but you also are under contract.

You you will be selling Stanley Marketplace and you know, I think about that and with, with innovation and sometimes it's just time.

So how did you look at that?

Yes, we are under contract.

We still have a long way to go.

You know, these these transaction are difficult, when they're just straightforward projects.

This is not right with 50 plus tenants.

And and just the nature of Stanley, it is not a straightforward deal, which is what makes it interesting and unique and wh the buyer, Magnetic capital is so engaged in this project and excited about it is, is that it is unique.

We've done a really good job of being the steward for the community and for Stanley for a decade.

But new new ideas and new vision and new leadership is a good thing.

This was an organic conversation that evolved from a very like minded development group who is local who was also in the community.

They were and are customers here and showed up here and went, wow, I love what Stanley's doing.

I'm thrilled.

Well, it's as you as you speak about it, it's obvious that it's not just a transaction, it's a relationship.

And it goes back to the fact that you build community.

Funding for the business of Colorado is provided in part by Collegiate Peaks Bank, Colorado Business Roundtable.

And I bought and from the generous support of viewers like you.

Thank you.

To learn more, visit PBS 12.

Dawg.

The Stanley Marketplace shows what can happen when people share an idea, work together and invest in their community.

And as always, you can find more of our Business of Colorado stories on our YouTube page and on social media.

Or it has the power to tell stories, preserve culture, and bring people together.

And here in Colorado, creativity continues to shape communities in meaningful ways.

All types of artists across our state are helping inspire the next generation, while ensuring diverse voices and experiences are heard.

At this year's Colorado Creative Industries Summit in Trinidad, PBS Twelve's Alan Domingues sat down with Colorado's newly appointe poet laureate, Christo Apache.

They talk about the power o poetry, indigenous storytelling and the importance o creating space for every voice.

We also hear about Christmas Joe's vision for connecting with young writers across Colorado, and building a creative community that inspires future generations.

Here is that inspiring conversation.

Tell us a little about yourself.

A you are newly minted, Colorado Poet laureate, which is a tremendous honor.

So congratulations.

First of all, tell us abou your work, how that came to be.

Well, I was it started, my career as, as a painter, artist.

My artwork is what got me the scholarship to go to college.

Full scholarship.

And, my first poetry teacher, Arthur Z, was the one that convinced me to switch my major to creative writing.

And I'm really grateful for that because it has a really clos tie to my ideas of what art is.

Now understanding the art o poetry and how to assemble words so that it makes the best impact to the audience who's engaging in that.

So, I I'm really appreciative of that.

And that's, that's really th start of how, my work started.

You mentioned something that I thin is really interesting, that it's more than just writing.

What is the more that sometimes gets forgotten about poetry?

One of the main principles that I work through is being in the moment, being in the moment, and being aware of that environment and what that environment means, and connecting that to the emotion and how that emotion translates to the world.

That's a huge process.

And many decades, you know, it's being able to remind yourself that you have lived many moments.

My current book i this is taking the past moments and creating poetry out of them, because I kept a journal all these years, a live journal and also a dream journal.

The entries are older entries, so bringing them forward, seeing how they would be translated into something current was, was a nice process to go through.

And what is your, your your background?

I'm an associate professor of English writing and creative writing.

And what do you have a tribal affiliation?

Yes, I'm Mescalero Apache, Cherokee, Apache and DNA.

My DNA side, my clans are so clan born for, towering house clan, right?

Yeah.

And I think a lot of indigenous narratives tend to be past narratives.

We think of an indigenous presence, especially in the southwest, as somethin that is no longer with us, which and nothing could be further from the truth.

So I talk a little bit about how your work gives breathes life into, into, into this contemporary, contemporary voice of indigenous writers.

We are living embodiments of those stories.

So when people communicate back and forth, they are continuing the lineage of telling those stories.

So for me that's that's that's important.

It's it's huge.

Really important because i you are representative of that.

If you are writing, if you are carrying the stories from your body that, that that's really important because you're connected, you're still connected to the past and you're bringing that past forward.

And I think for me, that's one thing that I, that I cheris a lot in the writing that I do so that you know, I'm a very conscious and very careful about what I write so that I can continue to carry that.

My tribe just recently wrote an article about me, which I was really honored that they did.

And the one in the intervie they were talking about, like, how is my writing representative of the tribe that I, that I grew up with?

But I basically said that, you know, that I'm very conscious about where I grew up.

I never forgot that, and continue to carry that forward.

And you use a lot of that as influence for my writing.

So in essence, I'm reall telling the story of my tribe.

I'm telling the story of my emergence.

I'm telling the story of who I am.

I'm telling the story of my family, you know, of being in this current time.

I'm a huge believer that everybody has a story, and if they're in touch with themselves, they understand their past and they understand their current moment.

They can connect that and start telling the story.

Fantastic.

I know a lot of your work as is around the Two-spirit identity.

If you could tell us a little bit of of about what that means actually kind of define the term that for me is a was a very life long process and journey.

When I was younger again, going back to the library, I understood who I was when I was really young.

But I think a lot of people didn't, you know, and we still understand that today that a lot of people still don't.

And some of the reading that I found out, you know, I started seeing, evidence about what I was reading, what somebody who was called Two-spirit is, but in Western culture, it's it's a different perspective.

So for me, growing up, being two-spirit or then gay or homosexual, it was, difficult because you see how society acts and responds to people who are different.

I don't call them different.

But, growing up with that, with that perspective, you know, it makes, life difficult.

And I definitely understand that.

So I've made it a part of my life to be an advocate, because I felt like I was a little bit stronger in my spirit to, to speak up.

So I started learning more about how being indigenous and being, two-spiri now, has impacted my identity.

And it's it's been a long journey to begin to embrace and accept that within my own scope, knowing that in past history, many tribes accepted Two-spirit people, and it was a part of their community.

They were participants, in the community.

But it's very different than Western culture, you know, and it really saddens me because in a lot of my, wor that I've done with nonprofit, work, I've gone to a lot o different parts of the country, and I've always hear the same story from young people that their their familie have turned them away, you know?

So for me, that made me work extra hard to advocate for people who are going through that and are continuing to go through that.

I'm now proud to say that I'v done the work, you know, and so, hopefully that has made some impact.

I think it has, because no I'm seeing a lot of, communities embrace the concept, especially in tribal communities.

There's a lot of platforms and a lot of visibility that's being created for the space of two-spirit, indigent, queer, LGBTQ plus indigenous communities.

So it's nice to see, you know a lot of indigenous communities going back to that sense of embracing, two-spirit people because, it was part of the culture.

A lot of people last saw two spiri people as being medicine people, being caretakers being responsible for children, marrying people, holding ceremony.

So they were they were vital.

So and for communities to go back to that, I think, has made a huge impact.

And I'm glad that my advocacy was part of that.

So absolutely.

Yeah.

Great.

And tell us a little bit about what your plans are as the new poet laureate of the state of Colorado, my main focus in my, duties is to, is to raise the young voices throughout Colorado.

So there are 64 counties here in Colorado.

My goal is to publish one voice from each county in an anthology.

Toward the end of my my tenure, hopefully in the future, there be contributions to sustain another anthology of young peopl that's different from the first.

And I'm also going to be working with a local press to see if they can help lift those voices up, and then hopefully the funds, that we generate from that will help, county laureates and city laureates, you know, reach some kind of resourc funding for, for their projects because I mean, it's hard.

I mean if you don't have the funding, you don't have the resources.

It can be very difficult to help, you know, foster a lot of the voices that need to be expressed or need to be, you know cultivated, and, and encouraged.

You know, we desperately want people to return, especially young people, back to the idea of reading and writing.

And I think the efforts tha we put forward, especially like positions like mine, focusing on young people is highly important.

Awesome.

Being an artist does take courage.

Being an artist takes strength, and it takes a lot of energy.

Young people that are just starting ou or people who are just new, to the idea of art or expression, they need a place to start.

And so for me, what I've been trying to do is encourage people to, networ to reach out to other artists.

And yes, it will be scar to do that, but it's necessary what you will also fin as a new artist or new writer, is that how welcoming a lot of these, participants are?

Which I've been very grateful for every writer that I've encountered, every artist that I've encountered has, you know, fed me and my inspirations to do the art that I do.

I'm a multi-discipline artist.

I'm not just a writer.

I'm just not a poet.

I'm a painter.

I'm a photographer.

You know, I do art collage.

Sometimes I work with, physical structure.

So for me, being able to do those types of express creative expressions, having the courage in knowing that I have the support of other artists gives me that power to continue.

So for me, if I understand that, that I'm grounded in that, then I can help facilitate beginning artists to do that.

I also ask that of my own students.

You know, it does take courage.

You have to, you know, put your stamp your foot forward and just take a risk.

But if you're in the right place with the right people, which are the artists and the writers, they'll be there to support you.

You know, I've never felt so, supported, you know, in my life by other artists and other writers, you know, so I'm grateful, you know, every single day that I'm able to do my art because of that.

So hopefully, you know, that gets across to a lot of people, and they're not afraid to make that first step and find other creatives in their lives because they're out there, you know, they're they're not hard to miss.

Thank you so much.

We appreciate your time.

All right.

To learn more about the Creative Industries Summit and other stories celebrating Colorado's arts and culture sector, head to our YouTube channel and for more information about the Colorado Creative Industries is programs grants, and creative districts.

You can visit the state's website.

That's at oed.colorado.gov.

August 1st, 1876 is the da Colorado became the 38th state in the nation, 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

That's why we're called the Centennial State.

This year will be our sesquicentennial.

That is 150 years.

Kyle Dyer and the team on Colorado inside Out talk about this milestone where we've been and where we're headed.

Let's check in now with Kyle.

Hi Bosa and Ryan and hello Colorado.

This is a big week for us this Saturday August the 1st marks the 150th year of Colorado becoming a state.

So of course we had to talk about it and reflect on what our fellow Coloradans are thinking.

Here's a listen.

As Colorado prepares to celebrate 150 years of statehood, a new statewide poll offers an interesting snapshot of who we are today.

And the poll asked Coloradans, what makes you proud?

What worries you?

Who do you trust an what they hope for the future?

I'd like each of you to share your thoughts about the responses and the attitudes gathered in this project as we approach the big day, August 1st, next Saturday.

Patty.

This, which found that 7 in 10 Coloradans haven't heard much about Colorado 150.

That has to shock you because you are so Miss Colorado.

Well, it's shocking to me.

And of course, the people who've been pushing all the activities.

We have to remember tha this poll was actually conducted in the spring, and it's possible that people weren't paying as much attention.

Now it's pretty hard.

If you pick up a newspaper, turn on television, listen to the radio or actually go on social media.

Pretty hard to miss.

There are a lot of big events coming up on Saturday, August 1st.

Big party in the Golden Triangle at Union Station and, party at Big Feet at the National Western and all over Colorado.

They're going to be events commemorating the 150th.

Not surprising.

Coloradan feel much better about the 150th when you hear about it than they did about the 250th, because if ever a celebration has fallen flat or worse, I would say with the 250th celebration of this country.

Despite Chris's excellent speech a couple of weeks ago, people are very confused about how they feel about the current state of the country.

But I think in Colorado, people are still optimistic that we can pull together and do better.

Eric, I thought there was some neat stuff in the poll.

And hats off to Laurie Weigel, a friend of mine, as well as her counterpart Kevin Ingham, who are the pollsters for the Colorado Polling Institute.

And they did the work I loved.

Like when people ask what foods you associate with Colorado and the winters or foods and beverages.

And it was green chili and craft beer were the big winners, and then followed by Rocky Mountain Oysters and the produce.

Colorado is famous for melon and, peaches and what have you.

So I think there was good stuff in the poll.

Fun stuff.

Not as heavy as the usual topics that we poll on.

And, I was glad to see the results.

That' why I wanted to talk about it.

Not so heavy, but your paper too, actuall covered it line by line as well.

In terms of where people think we're headed what they care about the most.

Yeah.

Sharing some good news is always, you know, it's much needed in these times.

And it's something tha we highlighted at the very top.

Is that one of the, the the top things that people feel proud about?

Living in Colorado is not an industry.

It's not a sports team.

It's the landscape.

Not necessarily a shocker, but, you know, that's something that definitely unites all of us.

And it raises the question you know, in the next 150 years, can we keep our landscape looking the same?

Within days of this poll?

We saw a study from the Colorado School of Mines that found, you know, our historic winter drought.

This past winter was made for 14 times more likely because of climate change.

So, you know, no matter where you stand on climate policy, I think this poll sort of illustrated we can all kind of rally around what there is, what what matters to us to preserve.

And Chris, one thin I found really curious was what Coloradans found was important to Colorado's way of life.

Important or very important.

And of course, we've heard lands, water, landscape.

98% of those polled sai that was the number one choice.

That was very important.

Second to what to that was ensuring freedom and personal choice.

Freedom and personal choice includes less government intervention, personal responsibility, all those things that I started wondering if Colorado's having some cognitive dissonance, you know, holding two contrary thoughts together at once, because the poll also cited that people embrace at least 13% of those polle embraced Colorado's progressive policy measures.

You know, as I was thinking about it, we've had we've seen where candidates, particularly socialis candidates, are coming forward.

That's not exactly what I consider freedom, those who embrace freedom.

But when it comes to ballot initiatives, maybe that's where we see it.

We've seen, voters stand up against the the attempts to take away Tabor other issues that way.

And this November, we're going to see a lot of ballot initiatives come forward.

So we'll see if Coloradans really stick to that embracing of freedom.

You know, I have to argue because when you have freedom and independence, you look at the Western and we'll talk about what Michael Johnson used with the frontier references.

But the freedom also means you can be helpful to other people, and you can want to help your neighbor.

You can raise a barn together.

I kind of had that feeling.

It was the Western theory of neighborliness, but not necessarily kowtowing to government.

Yeah, but therein you have to have a choice, right?

The freedom of choice.

It was just a short poll.

Thank you, Miss Colorado.

Okay.

That was just one of the four topics we talked about on our most recent Colorado Inside Out.

You can watch the whole show by going to the YouTube channel, the PBS passport app, or the PBS 12 website.

And if you're into podcasts, we're on Spotify and Apple as well, and we're alread working on this Friday's show, so you'll have to see what it's talked about then starting at 8:00 here on Friday night, the eve of our 150th birthday in Colorado.

We'll see you then.

Need an excuse to kick the kids off their screens?

Well, science has one for you.

Researchers say spending time outside can help kids focus better, reduce stress, remember more, and build healthier brains, all while doing what they love most.

Playing on tonight' edition of The Family Beat, PBS Twelve's Erica McLarty sat down with the head of psychiatry at Children's Hospital Colorad on the Anschutz Medical Campus to find out why being outside has such a powerful impact on our kids brains.

And Erica grabbed her own kids and teamed up with Generation Wild on their campaign to get your brain out for some practical ways you can enjoy the outdoors with your family.

Take a look here today, teaching you is what people have, and we're always looking for ways to help our kids thrive.

Better focus, better mental health.

But what if one of the most powerful tools isn't something you can buy?

It's something you simply step into.

Can I touch the tadpole?

Yeah, yeah.

And today we're getting our brains out.

Why shouldn't kids be in nature?

We are evolved in nature.

It's part of us.

We're part of it.

There's no separation.

It's only been very recent in human history.

Have we been predominantly indoors throughout our day?

So we are geared to be outside.

Our brains didn't develop staring at screens.

They developed climbing trees, exploring creeks and solving problems in the natural world.

The outdoors for kids i a great place for young people to start learning resilience to make decisions on their own.

And that can be a really scary thing for parents.

But the outdoors really affords this opportunity to for kids to explore, to test some boundaries.

But parents can keep them still in a safe environmen by going to, say, a public park.

Kids can push boundaries, but that helps them become independent thinkers and make choices on their own of what they may deem is safe or not.

Those little moments.

Should I climb one more branch?

Can I balance on this log?

Can I cross this creek?

They're doing much more than playing.

They're wiring a brain healthy risk.

Taking in the outdoors can come in a lot of different forms, depending on the outdoor activities that you're doing.

You know, when we think about you know, simple outdoor play, it could be something as simple as climbing a tree and how high up you g is going to be that risk taking.

But it could also be, you know, going skiing or even playing a sport.

You know, how risky are we goin to be when we do those things?

You know, I'm not going t go off of that jump with my bike and test out my skills a little bit.

So today we're going to explore th creek, here at the Cherry Creek Ecological Park.

We're going to check the creek for macro invertebrates, which are bug that we can see with our eyes, but they aren't always really easy to see.

So when we get down there at first, we're going to look at the water.

We might not see anything, but we're going to do some closer investigations to see, what we're able to find.

I know we'll also be doing a nature craft where you can collect thing from nature and create a scene, no matter what the season is and you'll be able to update it throughout the year, depending on the things that you find.

We'll also spend some time meditating outdoors, which is really healthy for us to take those moments to really slow down and relax and take those deep breaths, which really has that, those great benefits.

Researchers call it healthy risk kids.

Well, they just call it fun.

This is what I am talking about the magic of childhood.

And these cost a couple of bucks and we're out here for a couple of hours, minimum.

So I only have one question, though.

Would you rather be on a screen or doing this?

Doing this okay.

Yes, definitely.

I'm doing this.

So I'm going to give this one the thumbs up.

We literally see stress hormones reduce.

Oftentimes we're livin in these artificial environments where our natural cues of time change are well off the natural rhythm.

And we find a lot of sleep disturbances and youth.

And there are a lot of other factors, like when school begins and screen time, but it's certainly plays a factor.

So sun exposure or vitamin D and sleep.

There's one like real example that we deal with all the time in clinic.

Even vitamin D levels ca improve with regular sunlight.

Even small amounts is beneficial.

We absolutely know that.

It's like as little as like five, ten minutes.

Because we're so attuned to signals from the outdoors.

Outdoors helps improve memory and learning because there is not a lot of structure there.

So there's a lot of opportunity for exploration and trial and error.

You might be surprise if it gets a little wonky there.

We have a piece in our brain that's fully dedicated to just even as you're walking around in space, like getting a mental map of the area.

And so you get to practice that when you're in these open environments, like you don't quite get the same kinds of opportunities.

And indoors, we'll also work on our memory by going on a short hike.

But before we go, we'll look at ten items and we'll ask the kids to remember those items.

There was a bottle cap, there was a lock and the key a pinecone and string.

Like a yarn string.

There's a battery.

And I don't know if there's anything else.

I can't remember really.

What was there?

What was there?

There was also a pencil.

Oh, yeah.

Screw.

So it helps us use our brains in a different way that we may not get in a classroom where some of the best benefits of outdoor time come are those unstructured play time.

And when we talk about unstructured play that really is just letting kids do what they're going to do.

They can use their imagination.

They can work together with their friends.

And that can be as simple as go to a local park mom, dad, caregiver, sit back, read a book and say, go play.

Go figure something out.

No schedule, no instructions, just imagination.

And sometimes doing nothing creates everything.

So we're trying to dismantle active ingredients.

Exercise is really important in some individuals, not only just improving conditioning, but it improves the blood flow by quite a bit.

Community and activity, which is so critical.

So we don't I don't like to talk that about the outdoors without that kind of support.

Having that kind of activity, scheduling at any level is, is key to individuals with depression.

They may be more willing to go out on an hour hike if a friend is able to come along.

So just like making outdoor time, family time has those kids get older.

It might become more friend time.

In addition to that family time, I often start with helping people find a community that supports and values, activities and being outdoors is an amazing thing about being in Colorado is that we have so many opportunities and so many organizations that will help individuals get outdoors, because getting outside doesn' mean you have to go climb a 14 year.

It might just mea meeting your friend at the park, walking your dog or simply relaxing in the sun.

So we always encourage kids and parents to get out there, get dirty get messy, and have fun outside.

Kids don't need another app or another screen or another perfectly scheduled activity.

Sometimes they just need dirt under their shoes, sun on their faces, and room to explore.

Because when we get our bodie outside, our brains come alive.

For PBS 12 on the Family Beat, I'm Erica McLarty.

To learn more about programs that help Colorado families connect with nature and discover outdoor activities near you, you can go to Generation wild.com.

And for more family focused stories from across Colorado with Erica, make sure to check out The Family Beat on our YouTube channel at PBS 12.

We are passionate about telling Colorado's stories.

We're also passionate about helping the next generation of storytellers find their voice.

This next story was produced by Nathan Matthews, one of our talented intern in the PBS 12 Creator Academy.

He spent time with the Denver Young Artist Orchestra on Discover How Music is helping young musicians build confidence, challenge themselves and create lifelong connections.

Here's Nathan's story.

We really pride ourselves on giving students an extra challenge musically, especially, you know, that sometimes, students need that that extra push that extra challenge to rise to.

And we love being able to provide that at do.

Whil we love to give them somewhere they can stretch their musical abilities to, to play music that they maybe didn't think they could or might not have the opportunity to play in any of their other ensembles that they're in.

My name is Rachel de Lange.

My role at D0 is the program and orchestra manager, which means I oversee th operations of the organization.

As far as the student orchestras go, I, I oversee rehearsals.

I set up chairs and musi stands for the students to use.

I coordinat when they're going to be absent.

If their parents let me know they can't be at a rehearsal.

I work with the conductors to let them know when students can and can't be here.

I help make the music and pass out the music for the students, and generally just ensure that the students and conductors have everything they need to have productive rehearsals and concerts.

I think that DSO, at its core, is mostly about making lifelong musicians and music appreciators.

It all starts when kids are very young, like six years old, and then a lot of students choose to go into musi as a career, and those who don't always appreciate music.

And I think that it's important to the culture of our society to make music appreciators and musicians.

I've been i Dio for the past five seasons.

This is my last year.

I'm really going to miss this program when it's not part of my life anymore.

Yeah.

So, I come I have three older siblings.

We all play musical instruments.

I have two older sisters play violin, and my brother plays cello.

And so they all did do it before me.

And so a lot of memories of kind of, you know, them having to go to rehearsal an going to see their performances.

For my musical profession, I was always in, kind of surrounded by music at my household.

So I started taking privat lessons and, around in kind of my freshman year of high school, I auditioned for Dio and, yeah, I got into the, yeah, the orchestra.

My schoo doesn't really have an orchestra outside of this, and, I don't really get to do chamber music, so, it's so, I really love being able to do collaborative playing and that kind of thing.

And so I think with, an orchestra program, you don't onl improve your ability to listen, but you're, ability to kind of hear the music around you and let that into your own playing.

I think the greatness of th audio comes from the community.

It builds.

And I think that, kind of goes beyond the students, but just all the faculty there and, and the students as well, and the conductors, I think there's just a really strong sense of connection.

And I think, you share that and you say, I think what sets us apart is the level that our students strive to achieve.

They're constantly wanting to get to that next place and wanting to push themselves farther.

And that allows us as an organization to push ourselves farther for them.

I just really love to be as involved as I can in playing the concerts and and just helping out in whatever way I can.

I think I want to continue to push myself.

I think that's what's really special is that we get the opportunity to push ourselves and challenge ourselves in that way.

And I want to, I think, try to become more of a leader in the orchestra.

Dio is amazing because of the students who are here.

That's what makes it amazing.

We have great conductors we have great staff, but really the students who are in our orchestras are what make us great, because they're the ones putting their hearts and souls into this music and pulling off amazing concerts and performances, and they're what makes this great.

Okay.

I mean, it's.

Congratulations to Nathan, one of our Creator Academy interns, for producing this story.

To learn more about the Denver Young Artists Orchestr or the PBS 12 creator Academy.

You can visit our website at PBS 12.

Dawg, what happens when you mix meaningful conversation with a little bit of doodling?

You get the doodle desk where the stories are real and the drawings are sometimes a bit questionable.

In this episode, Kyle Dyer sits down with Colorado Inside Out panelist Amber McReynolds, a nationally recognized election expert who has spent her caree helping strength and democracy and public service.

They talk about the importance of elections and civic engagement, plus why we need trust, leadership and local conversations, especially now.

And of course, it would not b the doodle desk without a twist.

They'll be drawing each other's portraits along the way, so we'll just let you decide who is the better artist.

Here's the doodle desk.

When the topic of elections comes up in conversation, Amber McReynolds is the person we want at the Colorado Inside-Out table.

She led Denver's transition to a fully vote by mail system, has helped other cities do the same, and is a national resource on election administration.

She's basically an encyclopedia, especially when it comes to voter turnou and what happens when elections are made more accessible, especially with women.

Her instinct is invaluable.

Her insight is right on target.

She's so important to CIO, especially in an era when conversations about elections start earlier or an earlier, or are pretty much year round.

Amber, I'm curious how did you ever get into this line of work?

Growing up, I experience of of seeing my grandmas that were super engaged.

They were both served as election judges.

My parents, both served in public service roles.

My dad was a lawyer and public defender and then judge for a while.

And then my mom was a school teacher.

And so I was surrounded by people that were serving in various roles.

And so I kind of, you know, th the idea of service in some way was something that I've grown up with.

And, elections came later, but it, it has been an honor of a life to, you know, be able to serve in this way and have a positive impact on every voter, regardles of of of political perspectives.

And, and be able to improve the process for everyone.

Okay.

And how are you at drawing?

I don't know, I, I was thinking about this, I, probably not great.

Me neither.

This year.

Beautiful face.

Okay, I'm going to start drawing your face, and you can with me, and I'll just keep asking questions, okay?

I'm curious, what was your first job?

You came from a small town in Illinois.

What was it that got you kind of focus on public policy?

And that's what you went to college for?

Yeah.

I, studied political science, at University of Illinois, in speech communication.

So I had a double major and, you know, worked in student government, led my, philanthropy, for our sorority that I was a part of.

So I just was engaged in a lot of different, aspects in college, and, you know, that that's really how I started in, in service and then went abroad.

And worked in the UK Parliament.

Oh, wow.

That's kind of cool.

Yeah, I was close.

I moved overseas, worked for Tony Blair's solicitor general.

Yep.

Did you have a mento or somebody who kind of showed you the path to go, or was it was it your family members, or is ther somebody who followed you aside and said, Amber, I see promise in you.

I think you'd be really good at this.

Not necessarily.

I would say it kind of kind of happened over time.

And just with different ways that I was involved in different aspects of the election, you know, political science, elections, all of that.

It kind of evolved over time.

And what like when you wer in charge here in Denver, again, you were the one who kind of created it.

So it's so convenient and accessible for us.

What was that like starting out where people were like, yeah, let's do it, or are you crazy?

What was like the reaction you got when I got to Denver?

Denver was one of the worst run election offices in the country.

Had a lot of problems that had happened over time.

And so, you know, we set out to transform the election office, make i one of the best in the country.

We started doing that by hiring a more diverse workforce.

And, and then we looked at policies like, how could we improve the voting experience for everyone?

And, you know, we started working with the legislature, educating them on how elections could be better run.

And, you know, it it sort of evolved over time.

And it also was responsive to what the voters wanted.

So voters were choosing to vote by mail at record numbers that continued to rise as we, you know, modify things.

And we wanted to make it.

We wanted to make the process easier for all voters.

And, and that's why ho the system kind of came about.

I mean, a lot of your ideas to really changing the way we vote, making it more accessible.

You've received a lot of pushback, lot of a lot of things as well.

How do you deal with that.

Hard.

Yeah it's hard I mean I Over my career, I mean, I've had to hear a lot of, well, that's never been done before or, you know, this is the way it's always been done.

You don't know what you're talking about.

You know, that's like kind of a a consistent that has been a consistent theme.

You know, I've been the youngest in the room, been the only in the room many times.

And, you know, I think that with that comes, you know perspectives that are different, but it also takes a lot more to get people to, listen to new ideas when they're set in their ways of the way things have always been done.

And you do all this and you, you, you talk with people all over the country, probabl the world about voting systems.

And you're a single mom to two really active kids.

I am yeah.

They're, my little ones.

They're not so little anymore.

Middle school and high school.

That's when I get so busy.

Really?

Why I work and do all the work that I do is I want them to have a better future.

Them to have an easy voting process, have a better community, safer, a better world.

And so, you know, that' that's my the energy that I find to do all the things I do is, is because of them.

So they're the they're th reason they're the inspiration.

You know, I think to going o this show on Color Inside Out, you really bring some contex to an issue that's very present.

But a lot of us might not think about why is important.

With all that you got going on to be a part of Colorado inside out?

Well, first, I'm a huge admirer of yours.

Oh, you've been a good friend.

But I think, you know, the conversations that you bring forward during Colorado inside out and the diversity o perspectives and background is something that's really important for all Coloradan to be attentive to and hopefully it encourages more people t have conversations with, with, you know, folks that maybe they don't agree with or that have different perspectives, than they do.

So I think the mor conversations we can all have, we will find that we have far more in common than we have apart.

And I think Colorado inside Out is is a good reflective example of of how we could be a better people.

If we conversed more and talked more about issues that we see each day.

We try, we try, don't we?

Every week?

Well, I'm grateful you're a part of it.

And you know, you're having those similar conversations on a much bigger scale when it comes to our election processes.

So thank you.

Yeah.

Are we ready to show each other?

Okay.

All right.

I tell everyone before I show I love you.

I love you, too.

Do you?

Are your eyes green or blue or hazel?

Okay.

I don't have a hazel crayon.

Okay.

Ready?

Yeah.

Ready.

Oh my gosh.

All right, here we go I like it, I like that one.

You do look pretty cool, though.

Nice.

And did you see yours?

I do, I'm sorry.

No.

It's good.

I really have a trouble with noses, I know.

No, this thing you have a beautiful.

No, no, those are tough.

I kind of had to.

And it was like.

It's hard with these crayons.

Yeah.

It is.

I know, excuses.

Excuses, right, I know.

Well, Amber, thank you very much for all that you do for our state, for our country and for Colorado inside out.

And it's been great becoming a friend of yours and continue to work with you as a colleague on this show.

So thank you for doing this a well.

Thank you for having me.

That was just a sneak peek of one of our conversations with our panelists.

For our full conversation with all of our insiders, check out the Doodle desk on the passport app, PBS Twelve's YouTube channel, or on our website, PBS 12.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

We look forward to seeing you the next time at the doodle desk.

We hope tonight's storie inspired you to explore, create, and connect with the people and communities around you.

You can find these stories, plus even more Colorado conten anytime on our YouTube channel or at PBS 12 dawg, thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time for more Colorado stories right here on studio 12.

I'm Ryan here, and I'm Bob Kanani.

Have a good night.