Contributed by Cal-Wood Education Center

THE TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY

This Monday, October 17, 2022, marks 2 years since the Calwood Fire burned over half of our 1200 acre mountain top. As I look back on the last two years and where we are today as an organization, I feel a pride in our resilience and overwhelming gratitude for the community support.

Although our recovery and mitigation efforts will be forever ongoing, we have continued to see our hard work pay off. With engagement from the Cal-Wood community, volunteers, dedicated partners, and researchers, we are working to restore the Ponderosa forest ecosystem. And as an educational nonprofit, we are finding amazing teaching opportunities about wildfire behavior, fire ecology and fire mitigation throughout the process.

This weekend, we are commemorating the two year anniversary of the start of the Calwood fire with the closing of Art in the Park in partnership with Chautauqua.  Please consider how you can commemorate the second anniversary of the Calwood Fire.  We hope that you bid on a one-of-a-kind birdhouse made from trees from the burn area, donate to Cal-Wood, or simply immerse yourself in nature and feel grateful and connected.

Gracias,

Rafael Salgado, Executive Director

BIRDHOUSE ONLINE AUCTION AND EXHIBIT

This year, Art in the Park features birdhouses made extraordinary by local artists and built by Cal-Wood staff from trees burned in the 2020 Calwood Fire. Bid on a birdhouse through the online auction and make sure to visit the birdhouses in the magical campus of the Colorado Chautauqua now through October 16.

There are 32 bird houses, all as gorgeous and unique as the ones below!

SINCE THE CALWOOD FIRE

Photos from October 2020 and Summer 2022

INTEGRATING FIRE ECOLOGY INTO OUR CURRICULUM

Courtesy of Calwood

In 2022 so far, 1,137 K-8 students and many Latino families have engaged in our fire ecology curriculum at Cal-Wood. One of the activities in our fire ecology lessons has the students and families make mud seed balls that they then dispense in the burned area. We are then monitoring the regrowth success using different techniques.

RESIDENTIAL WILDFIRE RESEARCH FIELD COURSES WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS

Courtesy of Calwood

This summer, we held one 5-day residential field course with 14 teens of color. They camped for 5 days and participated in authentic research in our burn area, in partnership with Colorado University, Colorado State University, Thorne Nature Experience and The Nature Conservancy.

LONG TERM FIRE RESEARCH PROJECTS

Courtesy of Calwood

We currently have ten research projects set up at Cal-Wood in partnership with the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado State Forest Service, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Our vision is that with research, restoration, engagement, and education, Cal-Wood can help the west to be better prepared for future massive wildfires that we are experiencing due to climate change.

WORKSHOPS WITH PRIVATE LANDOWNERS

Courtesy of Calwood

This year, we held a small, one-day training for private landowners affected by the Calwood Fire. We talked about wildfire behavior, climate change, and most importantly, fire mitigation actions. We are planning to offer more workshops in 2023.

VOLUNTEERS AND FIRE RESTORATION

Courtesy of Calwood

This summer, we worked with 28 volunteer groups on fire restoration projects.  We also launched a Friends of Cal-Wood series of volunteer days so that individuals could get involved. Volunteer activities included fire restoration, forestry management, trail work, riparian restoration, invasive species pulls, maintenance/beautification projects, wildlife enhancement activities, and more!

COLORADO GIVES DAY IS DECEMBER 6, 2022

Please consider scheduling a donation to Cal-Wood on Colorado Gives Day, December 6, 2022.

Supporting Cal-Wood has a greater impact on Colorado Gives Day. Your support is amplified by the $1 Million Incentive Fund. As we plan for 2023, our biggest financial needs are to rebuild our scholarship fund to match the number of children and family members that we plan to serve in 2023 and to keep up with our fire restoration activities.

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Cal-Wood is an educational non-profit that has connected hundreds of thousands of youth and family members to the Colorado mountains through our environmental education programs.

Please consider a donation to support our mission, our recovery, and our survival.