Apply for the Christopher Dyer Scholarship

On behalf of the friends and family of Christopher Dyer, Friends of the Tonto National Forest is offering a scholarship to Central Arizona Mountain Rescue’s Wilderness First Aid training for outdoor enthusiasts who frequently hike, bike, camp or ride in the Arizona outdoors. This is a 2-day comprehensive class that will teach you about heat safety, assessing injuries, principles of splinting, preparedness and prevention, soft tissue injuries, bites and stings, and many other potentially life-saving skills. Each instructor is a member of Central Arizona Mountain Rescue and brings real-world, hands-on experience to the classroom. 

Christopher Dyer died of heat stroke while hiking the Black Mesa/Dutchman Loop Trail in the Superstition Wilderness with his girlfriend on September 4, 2021. His devoted family and friends wish to memorialize him by preventing this tragic event from happening to others. The goal of this scholarship is to increase the number of outdoor recreationists who know what to do in the event of an emergency in the outdoors so that they can assist those in need of help. 

To apply, please complete a short application sharing why you want to improve your wilderness first aid skills, and how you will put this knowledge to use. Friends of the Tonto will review the applicants with the Dyer family who will choose the scholarship recipients. Two applicants will be awarded per class, and recipients will be notified two weeks before class begins.  Deadlines to submit applications are as follows:

Classes are held at the North Mountain Visitor Center, 12950 N 7th St, Phoenix, Arizona 85022. Classes are held over two days (Saturday & Sunday), and they start at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. More information on the classes can be found on the Central Arizona  Mountain Rescue website.