Riparian Ecology of the Southwest: May 10-12 (3 days)

Paonia, Colorado

Come camp at the Groundwork campus and spend three days exploring riparian ecology of the Southwest. We will do a riparian focused wild-tending project by the North Fork of the Gunnison River, make cordage, learn basic botany of early Spring plants that live along rivers, practice nature journaling exercises for land connection, forage abundant wild foods and eat them (maybe we’ll see morels again this year!) dig into the socio-cultural issues of the Colorado River watershed, take a field trip to Dominguez Canyon to study the Spring plants and also discuss the politics and complexity of native vs. invasive plants, visit a local food forest and more. Meal and camping provided. Indoor bathroom available at the Groundwork campus. Camp on site or commute if you’d like!

Some scenes from last year’s course:

Uncompahgre Plateau Ecology: May 23-26 (4 days)

at a location near Gateway, Colorado

(FYI, this class is already 3/4 full!)

Come camp in a canyon with me inside the Uncompahgre Plateau where we will explore: basic botany, do a land tending project on the land where we have class, look at critical analysis’ of ecological narratives and how we see nature and the land, make cordage, learn basic plant ID that can be used anywhere, practice natural journaling exercises for land connection, take field trips and hike in the region to explore the diverse ecology. We’ll have daily discussions, walks, gather wild foods for meals, and you’ll walk away with tools for applying critical thought to your related land-based project. All meals provided, this class is car camping based. The land where we will be basing class has some basic off-grid infrastructure but be prepared to bring what you need to camp. We will not be doing super strenuous days out on the trail, but keep in mind that the terrain in this area is rugged.

Mid-Elevation Field Ecology: 7,000 feet: May 30 - June 5 (7 days, most extensive course)

Come camp with us on the side of the Grand Mesa, the biggest flat topped mountain the world, to study ecology from down low in the adobes, into the extensive Piñon Juniper forest, up into the Gambel Oaks, Aspen Groves and more. We’ll go up and down in elevation studying the stories of the landscapes topping in at 9,000 feet. We’ll see Spring at different elevations and during different stages, where in one area a plant is gone to seed, in another a plant is in flower! We’ll dig deep into plant ID, wild foods, foraging and wild-tending basics, do readings and discussions exploring our human relationship to ecology on the whole, have daily discussions and sit spot, and learn more about the history of this specific place culturally and ecologically. We’ll explore narratives of nature, wilderness and invasive. We will take short hikes most days to explore nature journaling exercises and look for plants. In the middle of the week we have a craft day making cordage and looking at seeds. The terrain is moderately rugged, but we will not necessarily be going hard hiking, so consider you ability to hike 1-4 miles in a day in steep terrain and at high elevation. We will be car camping for this class with an outdoor kitchen setup, all meals provided. Bring what you need to car camp, but we will also have some base camp necessities provided. This 7 day course is my favorite to teach, as we have the opportunity to really dive deep in layers into the work of critically studying land. Past students came from all over the country and locally and from diverse backgrounds and livelihoods and all gained tools to take back to their home. We will be very bioregional in this class but I also connect the place we focus into the web beyond, given my extensive time traveling the U.S. and studying botany, ethnobotany and ecology all over.

Some scenes from last year’s courses at mid-elevation:

High-Elevation Field Ecology: 10,000 feet: August dates TBD

Come camp at higher elevation at the height of the summer on the Grand Mesa to study the plant life up on the biggest flat topped mountain in the world. We will be car camping with a base camp and all meals provided. We will take daily hikes between 1-4 miles, make cordage, have daily discussions and sit spot, do natural journaling practices to connect to observation skills, forage for wild foods for our meals, talk about wild-tending basics for ecological and cultural health and more.

Scenes from last year’s courses at high elevation:

Beginner Willow Basket Weaving: May 18-19

Moab, Utah at Moab Arts Center

Hide Tanning and Craft Classes:

Sheepskin Tanning with Jordan Culotta at the Buckeye Gathering: April 28 - May 4

near Concow, California