Greater Arkansas River Nature Association - colorado conservation and education

GARNA Seminars

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Natural History Hikes - Tuesdays - May 27, June 24, July 22, August, 26, September 23

Monthly hikes are scheduled from May through September for the 4th Tuesday of the month. The hikes will be coordinated by Cindy Bement, a GARNA Board member and an experienced and enthusiastic hiker. The hikes will be of moderate difficulty for those who want to share the fun of being outdoors and knowledge of natural history. Cindy will choose the location each month. Please call her to find out our meeting place - 539-7071.

Coordinator: Cindy Bement - 539-7071
Date: Tuesday, May 27, June 24, July 22, August, 26, September 23.
Time: 8:00 am – approximately 3:00, times may vary
Location: To be decided monthly
Equipment: Prepare for a day hike with layers and raingear, water, snack and lunch.
Cost: Free of Charge

Birding in the Arkansas River Valley: Stop, Look, and Listen! - June 21

Keep your eyes and ears open as we explore different habitats and life zones for bird identification. Special emphasis is placed on learning to recognize bird songs and calls, in addition to the usual visual cues. We'll look and listen for the sparrows, towhees, and bluebirds of open country, as well as the forest-dwelling birds such as nuthatches, thrushes, and warblers.

Instructor: Jacque Fisher earned her bachelor's degree and teaching license from the University of Northern Colorado. Jacque was a volunteer with The Raptor Education Foundation for many years, presenting programs and handling birds of prey in both public and educational settings. She is a workshop leader every summer at the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, conducting the popular "Birding Among the Wildflowers" hike.
Date: Saturday, June 21 Time: 7:45 am – 11:30 am
Location: Meet at Poncha Springs Visitors' Center at hwy junction 285 & 50. Carpool from there.
Equipment: Binoculars and your favorite bird book. Stop by the USFS office, 325 W. Rainbow Blvd. to see the new display on area birds and to pick up a bird check list. Display should be ready by June 1.
Cost: $12 GARNA members
$15 Non-GARNA members

Alpine Wild Flower Hike - July 12

Look for wildflowers on Cottonwood Pass to learn how these exquisite jewels of the plant world survive and thrive in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth.

Instructor: Marilyn Moore, GARNA Board Member, was a Master Gardner in Denver County for 17 years and a horticulture volunteer at Denver Botanic Gardens for 20 years and co-leader for a wildflower hike at the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.
Date: Saturday, July 12 Time: For carpooling - 8:00am parking lot west of Salida Safeway, 8:45am at BV True Value Hardware on Hwy 24, and 9:30 am at Cottonwood Pass Parking area.
Location: Cottonwood Pass
Equipment: Bring layers for weather, lunch, water, a hand lens if possible, and The Alpine Flower Finder by Wingate and Yeatts (available at the AHRA office, 307 W. Sackett St. and the USFS, 325 W. Rainbow Blvd in Salida ), or your favorite alpine flower guide.
Cost: $12 GARNA members
$15 Non-GARNA members
Pre-registration required – Limit 10 participants

Lost Lake Wildflower Hike - July 20

Come on a leisurely two mile round trip hike to a beautiful high altitude lake. Along the way we will identify the many sub-alpine and alpine wildflowers which line our trail and, for those interested, learn how to key out the plants using the Alpine Flower Finder (available at the Salida Forest Service Office and AHRA). Bring water, a lunch, and a hand lens if possible, wear sturdy footwear, and be prepared for possible cold, wind, and rain. Altitude gain will be less than 500 feet.

Instructor: Marilyn Moore, GARNA Board Member, was a Master Gardner in Denver County for 17 years and a horticulture volunteer at Denver Botanic Gardens for 20 years and co-leader for a wildflower hike at the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.
Date: Sunday, July 20 Time: For carpooling - 8:00am parking lot west of Salida Safeway, or meet Marilyn at 8:45am at BV True Value Hardware on Hwy 24.
Location: Lost Lake
Equipment: Bring layers for weather, lunch, water, a hand lens if possible, and The Alpine Flower Finder by Wingate and Yeatts (available at the AHRA office, 307 W. Sackett St. and the USFS, 325 W. Rainbow Blvd in Salida ), or your favorite alpine flower guide.
Cost: $12 GARNA members
$15 Non-GARNA members
Pre-registration required – Limit 10 participants

Creativity and Composition - Photography with Carol Cartwright - July 23

The first hour will be a slide presentation about creativity and composition in photographic images. The rest of the time, we will walk around town photographing architectural interests, flowers, or what ever intrigues you. Bring your camera and explore different ways to photograph a subject. Know how to operate your camera as this is not a technical class, but a way to enjoy capturing images.

Instructor: Carol Cartwright, professional photographer and owner of Cartwright Gallery in Salida. Carol has Masters and Specialist degrees in education from Drake University and is a graduate of the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, (RMSP), Summer Intensive Program in Missoula, Montana and also the Digital Intensive photography course at RMSP. She says, “My educational and life experiences provide me with the technical skill, creativity, and sensitivity to capture images of the beauty and stark reality that surround us. I capture the rhythmic nature of subjects by establishing a sensitive connection to them by using intuition, imagination, and instinct. I enjoy sharing the world’s magic with others who are captured by the essence of the subject, yet experience truth, honesty, and a sense of curiosity and wonder.”
Date: Wednesday, July 23 Time: 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Salida Library and locations around town. If it rains, attend the library slide presentation and the outdoor portion will be rescheduled.
Equipment: Come prepared to take lots of pictures. Bring water and dinner/snack.
Cost: $25 GARNA members
$30 Non-GARNA members
Pre-registration required - Limit: minimum 5 & maximum 10 participants

Growing Green - July 26

Visit several home greenhouses to see types of greenhouse construction and ways that gardeners design their growing beds and types of plants they choose to grow. Visits include free standing geodesic domes, an attached lean-to greenhouse and possibly others.

Coordinator: Denny Arter, GARNA board member and greenhouse owner.
Date: Saturday, July 26 Time: 9:00am – about 2:00
Location: Meet for carpooling at Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area parking lot, 307 West Sackett Ave., Salida.
Equipment: Bring water and a sack lunch
Cost: $12 GARNA Members
$15 Non-GARNA members
Pre-registration required - Limit: 16 participants

Field Sketching and Book Making with Sherrie York - August 2

Time spent observing nature is ALWAYS profitable, and to sketch while you're at it is just plain fun! Grab a sketchbook and a pencil and join us as we learn to record the world around us. We'll cover several basic drawing and observation skills and techniques, including contour, memory, and gesture drawing. Non-artists welcome. We'll also spend a little time looking at different sketchbook and journal forms, including some easy ways to bind your own books.

Instructor: Sherrie York, Salida printmaker, painter, and naturalist is an accomplished artist with an international reputation for lyrical and expressive works on paper.
Date: Saturday, August 2 Time: 9:30 am -12:30 pm
Location: Salida Regional Library and locations out of doors
Equipment: Bring a pencil, eraser, sketchbook, (preferably 8x10 or larger), or paper and a clipboard. Optional - something to sit on outside, snack, water, hat and sunscreen. Sherrie will supply everything else.
Cost: $20 GARNA Members
$25 GARNA members
Pre-registration required - Limit: 10 maximum, 4 minimum

Compost: Nature’s Ultimate Recycler - You build the pile, Bugs do the rest - August 11

If you start with the right mix of brown, green, air and water, a host of micro- and macro-organisms will transform these organic materials into “Black Gold”. Learn the right and wrong things to include in a compost pile, how to put them together, and how to tend the mixture as the ‘bugs’ do the work. You’ll learn how to create various styles of bins out of recycled materials, the right place for a compost bin, and how to know when it’s finished.

Instructor: Trisha Cullinan, Master Composter. Organic Gardening Magazine was Trisha's first introduction to composting, back in 1974. After years of successful composting, she participated in a 'train-the-trainer' program in 1996 with the City and County of Denver. Trish continues to achieve the goal of this program by teaching composting skills to others.
Date: Monday, August 11 Time: 5:30pm - 6:30 pm
Location: Salida Community Garden, corner of 2nd and I Streets
Cost: $5 GARNA members
$7 Non-GARNA members

Hike to the Natural Arch in Fourmile - September 13

Been frustrated that you never could find the Arch in the Fourmile Area? Don’t believe it even exists? Come on a hike guided by Friends of Fourmile Volunteers and we’ll show you that and more. This hike is rated moderately strenuous because it follows an undefined route that is in places steep and requires a little scrambling. Depending on the group we can extend it higher on the ridge for views of the valley and interior of the Fourmile area near the Davis Meadow. The driving access needs an SUV or high clearance pickup but car-pooling will be available.

Coordinator: Friends of Fourmile Members
Date: Saturday, September 13 Time: 9:00 am - about 3:00 pm
Location: Meet at the parking area/restrooms at the riverside end of East Main St. in Buena Vista.
Equipment: Prepare for a day hike and be sure to bring layers and rain gear, hat, hiking shoes, sunscreen, plenty of water and lunch.
Cost: Free of Charge
Pre-Registration required

Vermicomposting - September 27

Vermicomposting, or indoor worm composting with red worms, is an ecologically sound way to recycle food waste. It’s easy, it doesn’t smell, and it’s lots of fun (kids love it!) The resulting worm castings are an extraordinary organic food for indoor and outdoor plants, and unlike regular outdoor composting, it can be done year round. Come see how easy it is and learn how to make your own worm composting bin. Worms will be available when you’re ready to get started.

Drive along the Route of the Old Leadville Stage Road - September 28

As a follow-up to earlier slide presentations in Salida, Buena Vista and Leadville, Alan Robinson will lead a driving tour (more or less) along the route of the 1870-1880 Leadville Stage Road in Chaffee and Lake Counties. We’ll start in Salida and follow county roads which likely were the original “LSR,” locate bridges and stage stations and from there through Nathrop, Buena Vista, Granite and the Hayden Valley south of Leadville. We’ll walk short sections of the actual trail on public lands, and see how it related to the Midland and Denver and Rio Grand Railroads, (with commentary from Lyn Berry, resident amateur Midland RR historian), and the 1915-era “Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway,” predecessor of modern Hwy 24. We’ll walk maybe a half mile on rough ground.

Date: Sunday, September 28 Time: 9:30am - about 2:30 pm
Location: Meet at 9:30am at the AHRA Headquarters building at 307 West Sackett in Salida for a 20 minute visual refresher of the story and then we’ll head north. Normal passenger vehicles are fine but car-pooling is encouraged. Should be at the north end and finished by 2:30 pm and then add time to return home.
Equipment: Hiking/walking shoes, hat, sunscreen and lunch.
Cost: Free of charge
Pre-registration required

Menu for the Future - NWEI Discussion Course - October 13 or 15 - 8 weeks

This will be an eight week discussion course to explore the connection between food and sustainability. There will be two groups meeting at each end of the county. Choose the location best for you. Future meeting dates and location will be determined by each group. Registration helpful but not necessary. Call GARNA for more information or go to www.nwei.org

Dates: Group I - October 13, Buena Vista - location to be decided, call GARNA
Group II - October 15, Salida Regional Library
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm, 8 weeks
Cost: $19 for book and postage