Volcan Mountain Foundation

Saturday, May 24: Join VMF's Outdoor Naturalist Janice Smith as we start our day relaxing quietly in a sensory meditation, allowing us to slow down, breathe deeply, and connect with the beauty of nature. Inspired by the freshness of the season, we’ll take a short walk to forage the ingredients we will use to make botanical bath salts, a raw sugar scrub, and a handmade spring soap infused with essential oils of your choice. You will be able to take home your handcrafted creations.

Sunday, February 23: Join Janice Smith, VMF’s Education Coordinator and Certified Forest Therapy Guide, on a guided Forest Bathing walk at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center. This is a new program of bi-monthly Forest Bathing walks offered through VMF.

What is Forest Bathing?  

Sunday, March 23: Join VMF's outdoor naturalist educator, Janice Smith, as we identify, collect, and cook wild edible plants at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center.  

We will start with a short walk to identify and harvest some of the easy to find edible plants growing around the nature center. Then we will roll up our sleeves and work in teams creating a delicious meal together from our harvest. 

Saturday, March 22:  Step into the magic of spring! In this workshop VMF's outdoor naturalist educator, Janice Smith, will guide you on a short walk to identify and harvest edible wild plants growing around the nature center. Then we will work in teams to make a delicious green feast. These lush plants may include miner’s lettuce, chickweed, cleavers, plantain, stinging nettle, mustard, stork’s bill, conifer needles and more!

February 2 Wildcrafting: Conifer Tea and Forest Scone Party

Join us for a celebration of Volcan Mountain forest in winter, featuring the unique flavors of conifer trees paired with delicious toasted pine nut and conifer scones! This enchanting experience blends foraging and culinary creativity into a day of nature-inspired connection and learning. Perfect for nature lovers, foragers, and tea enthusiasts of all experience levels.

Monday, December 16: Join the Volcan Mountain Foundation for a citizen science bird survey on Volcan Mountain in Julian. This is a great opportunity to contribute valuable data for the National Annual Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count. We'll be focusing our attention on VMF's pond and Volcan Road near our Sky Island trail. 

Date: Monday, December 16

Time: 8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Bring: Snacks, drinking water, comfortable shoes, a warm coat....and, of course, your binoculars.

Sunday, December 15: Join Janice Smith, VMF’s Education Coordinator and Certified Forest Therapy Guide, on a guided Forest Bathing walk at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center. This is a new program of bi-monthly Forest Bathing walks offered through VMF.

What is Forest Bathing?  

Saturday, November 9: Every year hundreds of people from around the county visit Julian to go apple picking near Volcan Mountain or hike its trails at the Santa Ysabel East and Volcan Mountain Preserves, and while we celebrate the public connecting to nature, at times visitors inadvertently leave small amounts of trash along Farmer Road. 

November 10: Join the Volcan Mountain Foundation for its quarterly bird count on Volcan Mountain in Julian. This is a great opportunity to hone your bird ID skills with experts, learn about our local mountain bird species, and contribute valuable data to VMF and the Cornell Lab of Orinthology. We'll be focusing our attention on the areas near our Watershed and Sky Island trails as well as VMF's recently acquired pond. There is a combined two miles of walking during this survey. Hiking is easy to moderate. 

Date: Sunday, November 10

November 24, 2024 Wildcrafting: Acorn Holiday Cookies

Join VMF's Education Coordinator, Janice Smith, for a fun workshop making acorn cookies!  Note: Due to its popularity, this workshop is also held on Saturday, November 23.