February 11, 2026 – FOSM partnered with Menaul School to clean up trash and locate graffiti in the Foothills trail system south of the Embudo Trailhead as a part of the school’s annual “Mission Week” during which students participate outside the classroom in a community service project. The activity was organized by Lou Romero, FOSM Volunteer Youth Programs Coordinator, and Hannah Scanlon of the Menaul faculty. Lou’s detailed after-action report can be found at right.
Participants included:
- Sophomore students, ages 14 – 16, including students from the Philippines and China. (Menaul School typically has 40% international students from a variety of countries.)
- Menaul faculty members and drivers.
- FOSM volunteers.
The students and faculty were divided into three teams:
- Coyotes – 8 students with faculty member Chelsea Christopher and driver Nina Denisova accompanied by FOSM volunteers Mike Madden and Sim Cook traversing trails starting at Embudo Trailhead and ending at Copper Trailhead.
- Hawks – 10 students and driver Nicholas Maldonado accompanied by FOSM volunteer Sam Beard traversing trials south of Copper Trailhead.
- Bears – 10 students in two groups traversing trails north of Copper Trailhead: 5 students plus faculty member Ari Castro accompanied by FOSM volunteer Kerry Jones and 5 students plus faculty member Stephanie Kelly accompanied by FOSM volunteer Cliff Giles.
As the crews hiked and “swept” their assigned areas picking up trash and locating graffiti for later treatment, FOSM volunteer guides and Menaul faculty called frequent short breaks to engage students in a wide variety of educational topics including geology; plants; wildlife; trail etiquette, signage, and maintenance; GPS usage; electrical transmission; and fresh and waste water management. The differences and boundaries between City Open Space, National Forest lands, and the Sandia Mountains Wilderness Area also were discussed.
All groups ended up at the Copper Trailhead after circumnavigating U Mound. Photos taken by FOSM volunteers during the day are displayed below. Click any photo to enlarge it.
Last updated 6 hours ago