Welcome to the Boulder County Nature Association
For more than 50 years, the Boulder County Nature Association has been dedicated to understanding, preserving, and celebrating the rich natural heritage of Boulder County. We are an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization committed to fostering a deeper connection between people and the landscapes, wildlife, and ecosystems that make this region extraordinary.
Through scientific studies using volunteers, a grants program for relevant research, educational programs, field trips, and conservation advocacy, BCNA brings together nature enthusiasts of all ages who share a passion for learning and stewardship. Whether you’re a seasoned naturalist or simply curious about the world just outside your door, we invite you to explore, discover, and help protect the natural wonders of Boulder County.
BCNA and Boulder Audubon jointly administer an email list serve, Nature-Net, to keep everyone updated about items of interest to both organizations.
To discover more about BCNA’s programs, please follow the links above the photo or in the hamburger drop-down menu.
BCNA’s Educational Hike Series
Fun Naturalist Scavenger Hunt for Kids Age 8+
Friday, June 19 from 8:30 am – 10:30 am
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.
Do you have a child/grandchild 8+ who loves nature? Or needs an introduction to nature? Kids have an innate interest in nature that we can nurture for their future and for nature’s future.
Join us!
Climate Change and Forests of Boulder County
Wednesday, June 10 – 8:00am – 5:00pm
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?
Join Tom Veblen, CU Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and Karl Ford, BCNA Education Committee member, for the third hike in this series to explore these themes in Boulder County’s lower montane, upper montane, and subalpine forests.
KGNU Monthly Nature Almanac
Summer Songbirds in Gregory Canyon
For the June Nature Almanac, Naturalist Steve Jones heads to the lush, almost Appalacian thickets of trees and shrubs along Gregory Canyon, where he enlists his Iphone Merlin App to name the amazing songbirds hiding in the canopies of leafy box elder trees and wild maples and evergreens Some of these songbirds have traveled thousands of miles, to raise their young on a feast of Front Range bugs and caterpillars and other delights. These songbirds hide thanks to colors of shady grey or brown with a touch of yellow or green to match the dappled shade and leaf colors of trees where some are singing their hearts out this morning. Steve finds a bird that makes its nest by folding over leaves to make the shape of a tiny oven, a bird that sings a countless number of complicated songs, because the one who sings with the most complications is the one that wooes the best mates, and a tiny bird with a dazzling red eye that sings from morning until night. It altogether makes Gregory Canyon a zone of enchantment, like an Aviary, but instead of in a cage, in the wide open walls of our mountain open space.
Calendars of Upcoming Local Environmental Events
Boulder.Earth Climate Action Portal
People and pollinators action network: Upcoming events
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers
Gifts for the Naturalist in Your Life
- Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder
- Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster
- Front Range Birding Company: 2425 Canyon Blvd Suite B, Boulder, and 10146 W. San Juan Way, Littleton
- Harlequin’s Gardens, 4795 N. 26th St., Boulder
- The Gardens on Spring Creek, 2145 Centre Ave., Fort Collins
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Some Barnes & Noble stores in the Front Range
- Amazon, amazon.com
- Brigham Distributing, brighamdistributing.com
Banner Photo: Mink at Sawhill Ponds, Boulder; July 24, 2021 © CCVanWie
Boulder County Nature Association
P.O. Box 493, Boulder, CO 80306