Trip Leader: Dave Sutherland
Participant Limit: 15 Teen Naturalists. A waitlist will be available if the trip fills.
Go behind the scenes at the Butterfly Pavilion to learn about their collection of live invertebrates and what it takes to care for and manage living exhibits. Besides spending time in the “Wings of the Tropics” free flight rainforest, you’ll see where Rosie the Tarantula and a host of other small critters live when they are not on display.
Learn where the living butterflies come from and how they are shipped to the Pavilion from all over the world. Entomologists at the Pavilion will answer your questions about spiders, insects, whip scorpions, sun spiders and more; and talk about careers in science, education, invertebrate conservation and living museums.
Boulder County Audubon Society will pay admission for all teen participants. Families are welcome to join but will need to pay their own admission. The pavilion stays open until 5pm. Teens and families are welcome to remain at the pavilion after the tour.
Registration Required: To register or for any questions, contact Dave Sutherland, dsutherland4747@gmail.com or (720) 626 1797.
Who Can Participate?: Outings are open to unaccompanied students in sixth grade and up, as well as younger students accompanied by parents. New participants are welcome at any time.
Transportation: Participants must provide their own transportation to teen naturalist trips. A participant list will be shared if participants want to coordinate carpooling among themselves. If you don’t want your contact information shared with other participants, please include this when you register.
Trip Location: Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, CO. Meet in the foyer, just before the admissions counter.
Learn more about Boulder County Audubon’s Teen Naturalist program or send questions to Dave Sutherland, dsutherland4747@gmail.com or (720) 626-1797.
Central American Owl Butterfly (Caligo sp.). The larvae feed on banana leaves and they are pests in banana plantations. They are a crepuscular — active dawn and dusk — butterfly! Photo by Dave Sutherland
Trip Leader Bios
Dave Sutherland is an award-winning interpretive naturalist, recently retired from the City of Boulder’s Open Space program. He has a Bachelor’s in biology from Pomona College, and a Master’s in nature interpretation from the University of Idaho. Besides nearly 30 years of work in the Boulder area, Dave has led outdoor education programs in California, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands. Dave is a self-professed natural science geek who uses games and activities to inspire others with his love of nature. He has been training for his job since the age of 4, when he began collecting rocks and butterflies and drawing his own bird books with crayons.