Seventh grader Peter Fronczak (right) and 5th grader Cole Younoszai examine the first clue before heading out on the scavenger hunt. Participants got a card stamped at each stop to show they followed all the clues, and upon bringing back completed cards, they were eligible for prizes.
Kera Terwilliger (background), with 3-year-old Morgan in the buggy, waits as her husband Keith gets checked in at the stop near the 26th Ave. bridge. Stamping their card are McAuliffe 8th graders Alexis Mitzner (foreground) and Laine Draper.
In 1995, Denver City Council approved the Stapleton Development Plan (the Green Book) as part of Denver’s Comprehensive Plan. The scavenger hunt on June 13 celebrated 20 years since the plan was adopted. The clues led participants to neighborhood sites and gave them an understanding of how those sites relate to the goals that guided the development.
A guiding principle for homes at Stapleton stated, “Facilitate the development of affordable housing as well as attraction or middle and upper income families to the northeast area.” Following the clues took participants past “a broad mix of housing types, densities and price ranges,” including homes and apartments in Denver’s affordable homes program.
At the Westerly Creek Elementary stop, Emma Atuire, a sophomore at Hastings College in Nebraska and Sandra Johnson, an 8th grader at McAuliffe check in Delaney Burke as her mom watches. Ella Kohler, right, waits to check in. Ella and Delaney are 5th graders at Westerly Creek.
At The Eye on the Horizon (after Monet) along 29th Ave., Noorjahan Moloo (left), a 10th grader at DSST and Mackenzie Kilk, an 8th grader at Bill Roberts, check in 5th grader Maya Boley.
The Central Park Rec Center and Westerly Creek Park were among the destinations that illustrate the plan’s directive to “Insure that appropriate recreation facilities are provided on an equitable basis to meet community needs.” An additional guiding principle for parks also called for the use of “natural features and the pre-existing environment as a basis for the design of the park system.”
Other clues took participants to destinations that relate to quality neighborhood schools and the use of a village concept in neighborhoods.
Fifth grader Maya Boley, who rode with her family, called it, “A lot of fun.” Jeff Corley, pulling his 4- and 1-year olds in a buggy, and Keith Terwilliger, riding with his wife and 3-year-old, both commented that they liked seeing things they didn’t notice from their cars.
The scavenger hunt was sponsored by the Stapleton Foundation. The clues can be downloaded at StapletonDenver.com/scavenger-hunt. Those who complete the hunt can upload their results until Labor Day to be entered in a drawing for prizes.
