Walking Mountain’s team of Foley Graduate Fellows takes pride in teaching place-based education rooted in the Eagle Valley. The fellows aim to lead by example through their teaching practices, encouraging the school students and summer campers they work with to build a sense of connection within their own communities. A strong sense of place helps people feel connected to where they live. This connection helps them see themselves as part of a larger ecological and social system. It fosters belonging, responsibility, and care for both community and environment, and when individuals value the places around them, they are more likely to engage thoughtfully with their environments and act as stewards.
For graduate fellow Justin Deutsch, photography is one of the main ways he builds a sense of place and expresses himself creatively. Through his photos, he tells stories about the world from his own perspective. Photography encourages him to slow down and notice details, patterns, and seasonal changes. This practice deepens his connection to the land and fosters a sense of care and respect that he hopes to share with others.
This blog offers a visual look into life in the Eagle Valley and what it means to Justin to be a Foley Graduate Fellow at Walking Mountains.
May 29, 2025: New Friends Exploring the Avon Overlook Trail
With small cohorts made up of the four students accepted to the fellowship each year, the program feels especially personal and close knit. After moving to Avon in the spring, we quickly began exploring nearby trails. The Avon Overlook Trail became one of our first shared outdoor experiences, and it helped us form strong connections to each other and to our new home.
June 6, 2025: GoPro Games in Vail
The GoPro Mountain Games are a highlight of early summer in Eagle Valley. The event showcases how people connect with the land through movement, sport, and outdoor recreation. Experiencing the Games as a Foley Graduate Fellow reminded me how deeply outdoor culture is woven into life in the Eagle Valley, and how our work at Walking Mountains helps connect people to these landscapes in meaningful ways.
June 9, 2025: Exploring the 10th Mountain Division Hut System
Our first staff hut trip focused on learning the history of Camp Hale and the 10th Mountain Division. We also learned about the Utes who lived on and stewarded this land long before it was used for military training. This experience built an important context that we could later share with students and campers.
June 29, 2025: Facilitating a Hut Trip for Fifth Graders
After starting to establish my own sense of place on the staff hut trip, I helped guide fifth graders through their first hut experience. With mentorship from a graduate fellow in the cohort above me, I learned how to create meaningful trips for others.
July 4, 2025: Fireworks from the Avon Overlook
The Fourth of July offered time to reflect and celebrate with fellow graduate students. Independence Day also marked an exciting moment as Eagle Valley shifted from spring into summer. As a Foley Graduate Fellow, I had the space to reflect on my transition into the valley and how I was beginning to feel more rooted in the community and connected to the landscape. I also recognized how my work at Walking Mountains was helping shape a sense of place for both myself and the students I teach.
July 11, 2025: Triple Bypass Finish Line in Avon
Nottingham Park serves as a central gathering space for the community. It is also one of my favorite places to photograph events, including cheering on our friend and fellow graduate student, David Geddes, as he completed the Triple Bypass Ride.
July 28, 2025: Summer Science Camp – Practicing Paleontology
At the end of July, I helped facilitate a weeklong Summer Science Camp for 3rd and 4th graders called Passionate Paleontology, co-taught with Rylee, a graduate fellow known for her enthusiasm for all things dinosaurs. The week was a highlight of the summer, with an engaged group of campers eager to learn and explore, and many opportunities to capture their curiosity in action. This was also one of the first opportunities I was able to utilize my camera to capture positive moments while teaching.
August 1, 2025: Photographing the Graduation of an Inspiring Cohort
As August arrived, the “TADS” cohort graduation took place. Teaching alongside these four educators throughout the summer was a meaningful experience, and learning from their teaching styles and growth through the program was especially impactful. Attending their action research presentations before graduation was both impressive and informative on what’s to come in the fellowship.
September 2, 2025: Spending Nights at Our Sweetwater Campus
In the first few months as a fellow, we had many opportunities to teach and learn at Walking Mountain’s Sweetwater Campus near Dotsero. Seeing the difference in ecosystems and the changing landscape just a short drive from town was special. This campus is a wonderful place to connect with the land and students.
October 3, 2025: Hiking Stag Gulch with My Cohort
In early October, my cohort and I hiked through Stag Gulch outside of Edwards to explore the area and look for the best fall colors. Walking through the aspen groves and seeing the bright yellow leaves was a great reminder of how quickly the seasons change in the mountains. We sure enjoyed the leaves while they lasted. Another hike together helped us get to know each other better and share some laughs along the trail.
October 24 and November 10, 2025: Community Events and the Aurora Borealis
As summer turned to fall, Walking Mountains hosted its largest community event of the year, Fright at the Museum, offering a chance to connect with students, families, and the community. Later that season, on a cold November night, we walked up the Walking Mountain’s driveway away from the lights of Avon and were treated to an unforgettable view of the aurora borealis.
December 6 and 9, 2025: Birds of Prey World Cup and Avalanche Awareness
Early December in Avon marked the start of winter events. The Birds of Prey World Cup on December 6 brought skiers and spectators from around the world, with waste diversion supported by the Walking Mountains sustainability team. On December 9, Walking Mountains employees, Riley Gaines (Community Science and Hiking Manager) and Markian Feduschak (President) led a ski and snowshoe excursion at Mayflower Gulch focused on snow science and avalanche awareness, providing an informative and eye-opening experience. Learning firsthand about snowpack layers, avalanche risk, and winter weather patterns was both eye-opening and practical, helping me feel prepared to share this knowledge with the students we teach especially during a historically dry snow season with unique avalanche risks.
January 20, 2026: Green Team Hut Trip Rings in the New Year
A special opportunity to teach high school students kicked off the new year. Teaching alongside instructor Sarah Noyes, the students engaged in snow science and astrophotography through hands-on learning. With my new knowledge of Colorado’s mountain climate and changing snowpack, I could connect lessons to real-world conditions, showing students the relevance of what they were learning.
Snapshots & Reflections
Teaching, learning, and photography have helped strengthen my sense of place in the Eagle Valley. By slowing down and paying attention, I have developed a deeper connection to this place, and that connection continues to grow every day. I’ve also come to realize how much I love capturing moments and memories, especially alongside the amazing friendships and relationships that have grown around me. I hope these experiences encourage others to build their own sense of place, find ways to express themselves, and care for the land thoughtfully and responsibly.
Justin Deutsch is a first-year Foley Graduate Fellow from Illinois who loves exploring and capturing his surroundings, connecting with local communities, and sharing his passion for environmental science through teaching and hands-on experiences. Here he is pictured on the left alongside his cohort Maggie, Mitchell, and Alli.
