Stowe Heights Challenge Course Volunteer Opportunity
Stowe Heights Challenge Course is a high and low ropes course located on the east side of Des Moines in the wooded area behind Stowe Elementary School. Managed by Community Youth Concepts, the course serves youth and adult groups from May through October and provides opportunities for team building, leadership development, healthy risk-taking, and personal growth.
We are always grateful for volunteers who help us care for this unique community resource. Over the years, volunteer groups have made a tremendous impact through tasks such as clearing sticks and debris, removing invasive plants and weeds, planting pollinator gardens, spreading mulch, and improving the overall appearance of the site. It is also a great opportunity to learn about the challenge course, a hidden gem in our community.
Groups of 5–25 volunteers can accomplish an impressive amount of work in just a few hours and enjoy the immediate results of their efforts. This year, our primary focus will be beautifying the front entrance, clearing sticks from wooded areas, maintaining trails and pathways to course elements, and creating brush and wood piles to support ongoing site stewardship.
No tools are required; however, volunteers are welcome to bring work gloves, garden tools, loppers, push brooms, pruning tools, or battery- or gas-powered saws if available. In the past, access to a truck for hauling debris has also been incredibly helpful.
Projects can be tailored to different ability levels, with opportunities ranging from light gardening and cleanup to more physically demanding outdoor work.
