GARNA "Member-Only" Clubs and Groups
One benefit for joining GARNA is access to our member-only clubs! We have Birding, Photography, Hiking, and Earth-friendly Book clubs.
GARNA Birding Group
There is a saying that to be a really good birder one should try to identify every bird one sees. Let's try! GARNA has an active bird watching group. If you would like to join us on an outing please call coordinator, Denny Arter, 539-0787. Any level of experience is welcome.
2013 birding events
April 28-30 – Chico Basin, Colorado Springs
May 24 – Salida
June 9 – Salida
July 20 – Russell Lakes
August 9-10 – Blanca Wetlands, San Luis Valley
September 12 – Leadville Fish Hatchery
October 10 and 12 – Evening program on sparrows, Salida and Canon City
November 3 – Pot Luck and planning for 2014
December 21 – annual Salida Christmas Bird Count
GARNA Photography Club
The focus of GARNA's new member-only photography club will be to improve camera skills and technical knowledge and well as picture taking techniques. Sharing experience, ideas, and photos will all be part of the fun. Participating in club activities is part of membership and is free of charge. Additional fee-based programs will be scheduled throughout the year to explore more about specific topics such as close-up photography, light and composition, black and white photography, and portraits. Please see the Seminars link for photography classes.
The group meets monthly. One of the group's main interests is leaning how to photograph in varying light so we plan to meet at different times of the day to gain more experience.
For more information about joining the club, please contact Ann Graham at 719-539-7400 or anng@q.com.
GARNA Summer Hiking Group
Pat Clark, hiking group coordinator, is gearing up for the summer. If you are not already on her email list, please contact her at patriciaaclark1@gmail.com. If you have a trail you would like to recommend, please let Pat know.
A list of hike dates will be published at the start of the season. Hike locations are usually decided 1-2 weeks before a hike. Many of the hikes will have a specific destination, but others may involve hiking several miles, having lunch, and then hiking back. Information on hike distance, difficulty, and elevation gains will usually be provided. Most hikes are between 4 and 8 miles in length.
Whenever possible, some time will be spent identifying plants and animals/birds, but there are not always experts hiking with the group. Special areas of knowledge and input is welcome!
GARNA Earth Friendly Book Club
New members are welcome! Club meets monthly to discuss a book decided upon by the group. Coordinator is Marilyn Moore; please contact her for more information at jaymoore44@aol.com. There is no charge.
June 4: The Greatest Show on Earth, by Richard Dawkins - "...a fierce counterattack against proponents of "Intelligent Design". Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence—from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from natural clocks that mark the vast epochs wherein evolution ran its course to the intricacies of developing embryos; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics—to make the airtight case that "we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection."
July 2: The Milagro Beanfield War, by John Nichols and Rini Templeton - "... like everything else in the dirt-poor town of Milagro, it would be a patchwork war, fought more by tactical retreats than by battlefield victories. Gradually, the small farmers and sheepmen begin to rally to Joe's beanfield as the symbol of their lost rights and their lost lands. And downstate in the capital, the Anglo water barons and power brokers huddle in urgent conference, intent on destroying that symbol before it destroys their multimillion-dollar land-development schemes."
