Attendees will explore Cal-Wood’s post-fire restoration through a guided hike with stunning Rocky Mountain views and an informative tour highlighting various fire and riparian restoration strategies. Participants will also contribute directly to recovery efforts through hands-on volunteer activities such as making seed balls, planting trees, or trail building, gaining practical experience in ecological restoration techniques.
Recommended for the trip: closed-toed hiking shoes, long pants, a sun hat, and a backpack with a water bottle, snacks, sunscreen, and a warm layer. Cal-Wood will provide work gloves.
Meals & Refreshments: Bagged lunches will be provided, and snacks and water will be available at the end of the field trip.
Detailed Information
Cal-Wood Education Center strives to grow the diversity and number of people who experience nature and the Colorado mountains. Since 1982, Cal-Wood has provided environment and outdoor education to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans with an annual reach of 9,000 through school programs, Latino Family Camps, and summer camps held at our beautiful 1,200- acre mountain site and local, state, and federal public lands.
In October 2020, the Calwood Fire burned 600 acres of the 1200-acre project. In its entirety, the fire was roughly 10,132 acres in size. Since the fire, Cal-Wood has implemented a wide variety of fire restoration practices. Some of these projects include aerial mulching, tree and riparian plant plantings, seeding, straw wattle installations, straw bale check dam installations that were later inoculated with oyster mushroom mycelium, low water crossings, a Zuni bowl, and the list goes on. We also have various research projects being implemented in the burn footprint.
Participants leave Denver at 7:45 am and arrive at Cal-Wood at 9:30 am. They will walk on a trail to the Lodge (1/4 mile) for a brief welcome and presentation by the Executive Director Rafael Salgado and the Natural Resources Manager, Angie Busby, while enjoying coffee, tea and snacks. Around 10 am, participants will go on a gentle hike to a beautiful viewpoint of the Rocky Mountains and Indian Peaks Wilderness. After returning to the Lodge at 11 am, participants will be driven to a site in the burn footprint. Angie will give them a tour and information about different fire and riparian restoration strategies and research projects that Cal-Wood is implementing. At 12 pm, participants will be provided sack lunches to enjoy outside. Lunch will be a great Q and A session time.
The afternoon will be spent doing a hands-on volunteer project to help Cal-Wood continue our fire recovery efforts. This project may include making seed balls, planting trees, trail building, planting surveys, seeding, and/or riparian restoration strategies. At the end of the project, at 3 pm, participants will be driven back to the Lodge for snacks, drinks, and restrooms before the drive back to Denver. They’ll arrive back at the Convention Center about 5-5:30 pm.