Soaring Eagle Ecology Center sharing love of nature

Soaring Eagle Ecology Center in Red Feather Lakes is flying high. This non-profit hands-on outdoor environmental education center has lots of events, classes and building projects underway. Located on 20 acres of forested land near Red Feather Lakes Elementary School, the organization is run by a volunteer board of directors and has been around for five years. Board president Judy Viola, shared their recent undertakings, all geared toward outdoor education that promotes understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

A $2,000 Larimer County Open Lands Small Partnership Community Grant will make it possible for SEEC to build an observatory to house a telescope that was recently donated to the center.

An $8,000 grant, one of only two presented by the American Academy of Dermatology in Colorado, will be used to build a shade structure to protect visitors from high-altitude sun and variable weather. Local dermatologist, Dr. Brad Baack was involved in obtaining the funds through the Academy’s Shade Structure Grant program.

An extension of the University of Colorado-based AirWaterGas Sustainability Research Grant for student/community/citizen science projects will allow SEEC to continue small particle air quality monitoring at altitude. Ozone trends as they relate to elevation and population density will be recorded and analyzed using a new handheld AirBeam monitor.

The summer will be busy at SEEC. Biodiversity moonlight hikes will be accompanied by an expert on bats. During a week in June and another in July, daily kids survival classes are planned. There’s a kids’ water festival in May and a free fishing event for kids in June.

For classes on orienteering, search and rescue, how to love the wilderness, tracking, survival shelters, macroinvertebrates and more, see SEEC’s website at seec.redfeatherlakes.org. All activities and classes are free but fill quickly.