BCNA Classes, Hikes, and Webinars
"Can we imagine a world in which social and economic practices are in symbiosis with nature - rather than just means to human ends?"
-- from "Exiting the Anthropocene? Exploring Fundamental Change in Our Relationship with Nature" by European Environment Agency, published March 20, 2023, last modified September 18, 2023
The mission of the BCNA Environmental Education Program is to build a community interested in learning from experts and each other about local environmental systems and actions to conserve Boulder County’s natural world.
Since the 1980s, BCNA has partnered with knowledgeable instructors to offer classes, field trips, nature hikes, social gatherings, an annual Ecosymposium, and other activities to present an in-depth understanding of the complexity and value of interconnected natural ecosystems in Boulder County and the Front Range. By highlighting the challenges facing these ecosystems and exploring avenues for advocacy, BCNA empowers members, the public, and professionals to contribute to the health and resilience of the environment.
If you are interested in leading a class, field outing, nature hike, or other activities to help us grow our environmental education program, please contact us to join our team!
2026 Classes and Hikes
BCNA's Educational Hike Series
Reforestation at Heil Ranch after the Calwood Fire of 2020: July 17
BCNA is continuing to focus on forest management in Boulder County. Boulder County Parks and Open Space forester Shane Milne led a hike at Heil Ranch to see the results of planting seedlings of ponderosa pine and surprisingly, limber pine, in areas burned during the Calwood Fire. Shane discussed the science and challenges of reforestation in the lower montane in a changing climate.
Articles on fire recovery and reforestation after the Calwood Fire:
Naturalist Scavenger Hunt for Kids Age 8+: June 19
Children are born with a deep, biologically rooted attraction to the natural world — a phenomenon known as biophilia, first described by Edward O. Wilson. This innate connection means they are naturally drawn to living things, sensory experiences, and the rhythms of nature. From infancy, they explore through touch, smell, sound, and sight, engaging in active play like digging in dirt, chasing bugs, or splashing in puddles. This was an activity using the Seek phone app.
Climate Change and Forests of Boulder County: June 10
Are you curious about how climate change has influenced wildfire activity and forest insect outbreaks in Boulder County? Have you ever wondered how scientists use tree rings to reconstruct fire history—and how fire activity under modern fire suppression compares to fire activity prior to fire suppression? Or how climate change is affecting tree regeneration after recent fires and driving increased mortality among mature trees?
Tom Veblen, CU Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and Karl Ford, BCNA Education Committee member, led a series of educational hikes exploring these themes in Boulder County’s lower montane, upper montane, and subalpine forests. Tom Veblen’s research group has been monitoring thousands of trees since the early 1980s. Participants had a chance to see how peer-reviewed scientific findings apply to local forest conditions and to connect research conducted in the subalpine forests near the CU Mountain Research Station to broader patterns of climate impacts across Colorado and the western U.S.
References:
2026-06-10: Subalpine educational hike at the CU Mountain Research Station. https://bcna.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Subalpine-educational-hike-CU-MRS-6-10-26-1.pdf
Response to Bloomberg from T Veblen. https://bcna.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Response-to-Bloomberg-from-T-Veblen.docx
2026: Veblen's notes on publications about forest management issues. https://bcna.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Veblen-notes-on-pubs-for-forest-management-issues-2026-1.pdf