From left, Bandelier Superintendent Jason Lott, Emily McLaughlin, 2019 Youth Dorothy Hoard Stewardship Award recipient Kaya Loy and  Ranger Sara Milligan. Courtesy/Friends of Bandelier

Kaya Loy

Friends of Bandelier have instituted a Youth Dorothy Hoard Stewardship Award. This first year of the award is given to an enthusiastic and conservation minded 7th Grader, Kaya Loy. 

Kaya is the daughter of Bob and Laura Loy of Los Alamos. Laura was raised in Los Alamos and she moved back to Los Alamos with Bob when their daughter was in the first grade.

Kaya will have $500 awarded by the Friends to be used toward a special project for the benefit of Bandelier.

Kaya has been involved in doing nature projects since she was in the 3rd grade. Her passion for the out-of-doors was stimulated when she visited Selvi Viswanathan’s garden of Five Senses. At the time Viswanathan was involved in helping people develop their backyards as Certified Wildlife Habitats. Kaya decided that Barranca School should become Certified Schoolyard Habitat. She sent out a petition to the students to generate interest in the school sponsoring the project. 

Along with others, she worked to prove the schoolyard could be certified. A habitat can become certified if it provides food, water, shelter, cover, and a place to raise young. She has since helped Viswanathan at many of the Earth Day celebrations with the Certified Wildlife Habitat project encouraging others to make their backyards Certified Wildlife Habitats.  Kaya also started a Nature Club at Barranca School that did other projects.

Because of the construction at the school, the sign no longer exists but she hopes the students are still learning how to attract and support local wildlife.

Another passion of Kaya’s is Girl Scouts. She loved the out-of-doors and wanted more out-door activities so she and another girl, along with their mothers, developed an outdoor troop. Some activities they have been involved in include overnight cross country ski trips, bird watching, hiking and camping. They have completed one of the Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s Passports and are working on the second.

Emily McLaughlin, left, and Kaya Loy hold up their Jr. Ranger Bird Brochure. Courtesy/Friends of Bandelier

Girl Scout service awards are based on hours of community service: bronze (20 hrs.), silver (50 hrs.), and gold (100 hrs). Along with her friend Emily McLaughlin, and Bandelier Ranger Sarah Milligan as mentor, she developed a brochure of the common birds of the area for Bandelier National Monument. This required hikes to watch and identify common birds. They developed a brochure and invited local photographers to illustrate each bird. The publication is called the “Junior Ranger’s Guide to the Birds of Bandelier.” The brochure is in the interpretation area of Bandelier for the public use, or online at https://www.nps.gov/band/learn/nature/upload/youth-guide-to-birds-at-banadalier-v2.pdf.

Presently Kaya is working toward her Girl Scout Silver award, which requires 50 hours of community Service. She and her friends are discussing creating a video for Bandelier that will teach people how to treat archeological sites and assure the preservation of the abundant sites of the Plateau. She is being mentored by Jamie Civitello, Bandelier’s Chief of Archaeology.

Kaya’s favorite class is Social Studies because she loves history (a love of Dorothy’s also). She was in the regional National History Day Competition in February. She won 2nd place in the regionals and will be in the State contest in April. She wants to be a photojournalist when she grows up because of her love of photography, history, and nature. 

Her father was in the military, previously stationed in Japan, so the family traveled in much of Asia. However, one of her most memorable trips was to Nepal last spring. There she got to see a number of new and interesting species including rhinos and evidence of Bengal tigers. As a young person she has been fortunate to travel to many countries because of her parent’s interest in travel and cultures.

She loves the views from the windows of the middle school. “I love seeing those mountains!”