San Diego County, California
Sunday, August 11th: Join San Diego County Parks staff for a nature touch table experience where you can see and touch a series of items found in nature and where you can learn about them from Park Ranger Lorena! The table will be set up from 10am until 2pm in the staging area – a great place to stop before or after you hike. If you hike, be sure to bring plenty of water!
Date: Sunday, August 11th, 2019
Sunday, July 14th. From pelts to skulls, tracks, eggs, snake skins, and full size taxidermy, see what nature looks like up close. You'll also get the chance to learn more from a County park ranger! The table will be set up by at the Santa Ysabel West County Preserve staging arwa on Highway 78.
Date: Sunday, July 14th
Time: 10:30 am - 2:00 pm
Sunday, June 16th: Celebrate dad and nature! Dad AND kids will enjoy a nature touch table experience for Father's Day. From pelts to skulls, tracks, eggs, snake skins, and full size taxidermy, see what nature looks like up close. You'll also get the chance to learn more from a County park ranger! The table will be set up by the Hubbell Gate at the Volcan Mountain Wilderness Preserve.
Date: Sunday, June 16th
Sunday, November 17 come learn the art of wildcrafting with acorns at the Volcan Mountain Foundation's Volcan Mountain Nature Center at the headwaters of Santa Ysabel Creek in Julian.
This one's now FULL--Instead you can check out the November 17th Wildcrafting Workshop - Manzanita, meaning “little apple” in Spanish, is a beautiful native bush that is easily identified by its beautiful green leaves, deep red bark, and green or red berries that look like little apples. In this workshop we will learn how to identify manzanita and their berries.
Sunday, July 28th - Join Janice Smith, VMF's Education Coordinator, in this fun (and messy) hands-on workshop. Participants will grind and sift dry red clay dirt to learn the process of how the local Kumeyaay made red clay for pots. We will also discuss the geology of how the red dirt was created and how the Kumeyaay used it to make beautiful pots for cooking, storing water, and food.
Sunday, July 21st - learn from Eric Jones, Julian's resident cheesemaker, the craft of making the famous blue cheese of France: Bleu d'Auvergne. In this half-day workshop, you'll learn about cheese making, including the chemistry, biology, and process that turns milk into the 1,000's of wildly different varieties of cheese. Through a detailed demonstration of the blue cheese process, hands-on activities, and yes, cheese tasting, you'll come away with the recipes and knowledge to start making cheese in your own home!
Saturday, June 1st - Join Mike Thacker as you learn about the geologic forces that shaped San Diego County as well as the specific geologic features of the Volcan Mountains. We will begin the day with a presentation at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center followed by a moderate 1.5-mile hike on VMF's Sky Island Trail. We will also get the rare opportunity to go onto Volcan's ridgeline for a discussion and lunch.
Date: Saturday, June 1st
Time: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday, June 6th join Volcan Mountain Foundation for a citizen science bird survey on Volcan Mountain near 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 the Volcan Mountain Foundation. We'll be focusing our attention on the areas near our Watershed and Sky Island trails. There is a combined two miles of walking during this survey. Hiking is easy to moderate.