All Dave’s hikes are free and open to everyone. Follow instructions below to sign up. Since hikes fill up quickly and often have a waiting list, please let Dave know right away if you need to cancel a reservation.
Free community Nature Hikes
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Historic Roosa Cabin Open House - Two Offerings!
Tuesday June 16, 1 - 3 pm drop ins
Sunday July 12, 1 - 3 pm drop ins
For over a century, the mysterious little stone cabin has sat near Wood’s Quarry at the base of the Third Flatiron. Who built it and why? Who lived here? What’s on the inside? Join the cabin’s owner Regina Bock, and Community Naturalist Dave Sutherland, for an historical “Open House” to learn the answers (to the best of our knowledge) about this enigmatic little building and get a chance to see inside. No reservation necessary, just drop by between 1 and 3 pm on the indicated day. If you’re not sure where it is, email Dave for a map to the cabin’s precise location, right on the Mesa Trail just a bit south of its junction with the Enchanted Mesa Trail. It’s about 1.5 miles one way from Chautauqua. There is no water, electricity or toilet at the cabin.
Destination: Ice Age
Wednesday June 17, 5 – 8 pm
Twelve thousand years ago, mammoths lumbered through Boulder’s cool deciduous forests. As glaciers melted, the climate dried up and the ancient forests vanished . . . except for a few rare hidden pockets. Travel back with naturalist Dave Sutherland to a botanical time capsule, one of the last remnants of the Ice Age forest in Colorado, where natural marvels await. Due to sensitivity of the habitat, space is limited to 15. Meet at the parking lot at Realization Point on Flagstaff Road. This hike is sponsored by Boulder County Audubon and is free. Email Dave at dsutherland4747@gmail.com to sign up.
Your Native Plant Garden, All Grown Up!
Saturday June 20, 1 - 2:30 pm
Planning a new native landscape? What awaits your garden when it “grows up?” Community Naturalist Dave Sutherland has a 29-year old native wildlife garden that has changed over the years. Plants moved around as if with a mind of their own, got HUGE! - and laughingly wreaked havoc on the best-laid landscape plans. Learn about opportunities, challenges and surprises that you’ll face as your pollinator / habitat garden comes of age and asserts itself. Bonus: get some native plant seeds collected in Dave’s garden! This talk is offered through Harlequin’s Gardens in Boulder and there is a $25 fee for the class. Sign up here: https://harlequinsgardens.com/product/plants-all-grown-up/
Shared Spaces: Turn Your Yard into a Habitat Garden
Saturday June 20, 7 - 8:30 pm Standley Lake Yurt, Westminster
Do you want to do your part to provide habitat for pollinators, baby birds and other critters of all sorts? What does it mean to create truly shared spaces for humans and nature? Join veteran naturalist and avid wildlife gardener Dave Sutherland for a slide program about his decades of experience (and making every mistake in the book) in order to maximize your garden’s beauty and benefits to the larger ecosystem. Bonus: get some free native plant seeds collected in Dave’s garden! (Cut and paste this link to register) https://cowestminsterweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/iteminfo.html?Module=AR&FMID=209391652
Sonata for Moon, Stars & Fireflies
Monday June 29, 8:30 - 10 pm Reservations open Monday June 15 at 6 pm
For thousands of years, the night and the moon have inspired poets, romantics, musicians and scientists alike. How do you musically capture something as ethereal as moonlight and starlight? Naturalist Dave Sutherland will guide a gentle journey from sunset into the light of the rising full moon with a varied selection of classical music inspired by our silvery celestial neighbor, interspersed with modern-day science. And with a little luck, there will be a flickering surprise! Goosebumps encouraged. Meet at Sawhill Ponds. This free program is a collaboration between Boulder County Audubon Society and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra. Email dsutherland4747@gmail.com to sign up. Limit 20.
Insects and Classical Music Two Offerings!
Saturday July 18. 8 - 9:30 am
Saturday August 15. 8 - 9:30 am
Why have composers been fascinated by bugs and spiders, and how have they tried to capture them in their music? Join Dave Sutherland, teamed up with the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and the Butterfly Pavilion, for a stroll through the Wings of the Tropics rainforest exhibit at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, while listening to recorded music selections inspired by the world of invertebrates. Butterflies, crickets, bees and wasps, spiders and even praying mantises have been captured in music! The adventure continues in the Butterfly Pavilion’s Discovery Gardens, where we’ll gently capture some live invertebrates among the flowers and listen to more music. Don’t miss this unique journey into the mysterious and musical world of bugs!
Admission to the Butterfly Pavilion is required, $10 members $12 non members. Sign up here: https://butterflies.org/invertebrates-and-music-walks-2026/
Nature at Night. A Family Program
Saturday July 25, 8:30 - 10 pm
Under the light of the waxing moon, Community Naturalist Dave Sutherland will lead you into the mysterious world of nocturnal animals. Explore your senses in the darkness: listen like a bat, smell like a moth, feel with your whiskers and learn to see by moonlight. Find out why the dark is not as scary as it seems. Ages 6 and up. We’ll meet at the Mushroom Pond on Westminster Open Space. Register for spaces here (cut and paste link): https://cowestminsterweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/iteminfo.html?Module=AR&FMID=209394965
Live Chamber Music at the Butterfly Pavilion!
Rooted: A concert performed in Wings of the Tropics
Friday July 31, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Saturday August 1, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Experience a magical evening where music and nature meet inside Butterfly Pavilion’s Wings of the Tropics butterfly conservatory. This intimate program brings together live chamber music by Concertvation, a nonprofit that explores how artists and scientists partner to translate ecological data into sound. Rooted in the earth itself – from soil and root systems to forests and trees – this program will reflect on the natural world as both a fragile and a living, interconnected system. The performance will be interwoven with contextual insights from Community Naturalist Dave Sutherland, offering perspectives on the ecological systems that inspire the music. This is a fundraiser to benefit the Butterfly Pavilion and Concertvation to help them fulfill their missions. For more information and to purchase tickets follow this link: https://butterflies.org/event/concert-in-wings-of-the-tropics/
Learn more about Concertvation and their work here: https://www.concertvation.org/