Good Neighbors

The Amistad Current—A monthly Recreation Area Update from the National Park Service

Reprinted with permission of the Del Rio News-Herald
Published April 14, 2006

Amistad National Recreation Area has developed a new educational program in coordination with our good neighbors to the west—Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site and the SHUMLA School.

Seminole Canyon is best known for their accessible prehistoric rock art sites in Fate Bell Shelter; SHUMLA is a relatively new not-for-profit organization that develops and produces education programs that connect people of all ages with their environment and cultural heritage.

The K.E.Y. program (Knowledge Enriching Youth) targets 4th through 6th graders in Del Rio and Comstock area schools.

The partner organizations will utilize the archeological sites and artifacts of the Lower Pecos Region to educate and inspire kids to understand and protect these vital resources.  The only cost to local schools will be transporting the students to the various off-campus sites.

By the time students have cycled through the K.E.Y. program, they will have participated in three field trips—to SHUMLA as a fourth-grader, on a houseboat field trip at Amistad NRA as a fifth-grader, and to Seminole Canyon in the 6th grade for a hike into the canyon to view the several thousand year old pictographs.

Students involved in the K.E.Y. program also will have received in-classroom instruction and attended the annual Archeology Fair sponsored by our partnership organizations.

The K.E.Y. program is an excellent example of how three different organizations can pool resources and expertise to overcome limited budgets and staffing.  It also demonstrates, to borrow a historical phrase, how a 'good neighbor policy' can benefit local students.