SAND DUNES — Fourteen freshmen and sophomore students from Colorado State University’s Live Green Community and eight Masters and PhD candidates from eight other U.S. universities spent six nights based at Great Sand Dunes National Park last week, said Superintendent Art Hutchinson.

“It was a pretty intense week for them, and for us,” he said. “They got exposed to a lot of real life issues, and I hope they took some new perspectives home with them.”

The students explored the complex issues surrounding environmental sustainability by participating in lectures, discussions and field excursions with managers and scientists from the National Park Service, United States Geological Survey, Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado State University Agriculture Extension, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Adams State College, and local ranchers, farmers and other community leaders.

Park Break at Great Sand Dunes was a complement to the recent efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency in developing an environmental sustainability monitoring instrument for the San Luis Valley.

It was designed to help students to understand the challenges and opportunities of building a sustainable community in a specific regional context. The event was co-sponsored by Colorado State University, the United States Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and the George Melendez Wright Society.

This is the second year for the Park Break Program, which had similar sessions planned in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Mount Rainier National Park.