2009 Scenic Byway Award Winner - Visitor Experience

Byway Kids Photography Project
Byway:	Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway
State: 	New Mexico

Cultural Heritage Through Children’s Eyes
The Trail of the Mountain Spirits Byway became an outdoor classroom for the Scenic Byway Kids Gila Cliff 
Dwellings National Monument 100th Anniversary Photography Program. San Lorenzo Elementary School fourth- 
and fifth-grade students received a single-use camera to take photos during a field trip to the monument. 
They also participated in the Junior Ranger program, which further developed an appreciation and respect 
for cultural heritage sites and public lands. The students’ photography was displayed at key heritage 
tourism sites across southwest New Mexico, and the Silver City Daily Press printed their images.

The project provided a solid learning opportunity that the school could not have afforded or staffed alone. 
It also drew the community into the project and educated adults as well as students about the area’s 
cultural heritage sites. It simultaneously helped to convey information about the byway program to citizens.
 
Partnerships between the byway and several public organizations, businesses and community groups worked to 
stage this successful learning opportunity. This cooperative approach reinforced the byway’s importance 
among stakeholders. Through the eyes of children, adults could see the byway experience and the area’s 
treasured heritage in new ways.