Monitoring with Amy
Amy Plummer, volunteer monitor and board member, took us along as she monitored a private conservation easement near Old Man Mountain. Enjoy the great views and wildflowers with her!
Baby Owls in the Valley!
Photo by Jim Ward
Spring has sprung here in the valley! The wildflowers are blooming, elk are calving, and baby birds are learning to fly.
We wanted to share these videos of a family of owls growing up in the Estes Valley this spring. The three owlets are fledging this week, and will be moving out of the nest soon enough.
Local videographer Rick Martinez has been documenting this family, and you can watch three of our favorite videos here:
We think you’ll “lichen” this short film!
Our community has learned time and time again that we depend on each other to survive and thrive. We build relationships in the good times and lean on each other in the tough times.
Lichens are valuable to our ecosystems, converting CO2 to oxygen, creating valuable plant habitat, and providing nesting materials to critters. Lichen build relationships just like us – they are not one living organism, but the result of a symbiotic relationship among organisms. Without each other, they would not exist. Recently, scientists learned something new about that relationship, and this short film will tell you all about it!
Together, We Support Our Community Members
We wanted to share these beautiful photos of birds in the Estes Valley, taken by land trust member Jim Ward. We are so fortunate to have wildlife all around us!
The Estes Valley Land Trust wants to thank you for your role in helping us protect wildlife habitat and support our community. Giving Tuesday has passed, but you can still give to local nonprofits. There are two ways to support your community today:
Donate to your favorite non-profit organization.
GivingTuesday.org and ColoradoGives.org can help you locate non-profits in your community. There are so many service organizations that are helping those that are hurting most right now.
Donate to the Estes Valley Land Trust.
You can also donate to the Estes Valley Land Trust. Nature is therapy for many of us, and your donation helps us preserve some of the most beautiful places on earth.
Connecting with the land while staying at home
Staying connected to the land is hard when we can’t travel to the places we love, or hike the trails that are dear to our hearts. But finding ways to get outside, like walking in your neighborhood and utilizing local trails, is vital to our overall wellbeing and happiness.
Our Executive Director Jeffrey Boring tends to his own beehive as a means to stay engaged with nature while staying in his own backyard. Watch him install his new bees here.
Bees are vital to preserving our healthy landscapes. They pollinate the spring wildflowers in the Park and the crops on farms down the valley that feed us. Want to learn more about bees in populated urban areas? Watch this video about beekeeping in downtown Washington D.C.