Teen Naturalists Uncover Tallgrass Treasures

When international documentary filmmaker Yan Chun Su offered to lead a filmmaking workshop for our Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalists, we had no idea what they would come up with. None of the students had ever attempted videography, and many were just beginning to experiment with close-up photography.

Yan led us out into the South Boulder Creek and Boulder Tallgrass state designated natural areas during too late-summer mornings in 2019, and we returned for more photography during September, 2020. She spent a half hour going over camera mechanics, then turned the students loose. As is typically the case with this group, they got right to it, capturing some sublime footage and still photos.

Boulder County Audubon started the Teen Naturalist Program in 2013, when two home-schooled brothers, Marcel and Joel Such, asked me why Boulder County Audubon didn’t have a program for teens. I thought, “why not,” and the three of us began organizing monthly outings. The program is open to students in grades 6 -12.

Since then, three dozen students have passed through the program. Several, including Joel and Marcel, have gone on to work as field ecologists and pursue graduate degrees.

Among current teen participants, some publish nature blogs or bird profiles online. Several help conservation organizations with field research and bird banding. Others have given public programs on subjects ranging from Ferruginous Hawk conservation to Wild Patagonia.

One student recently received grants from Boulder County Parks and Open Space and Boulder County Nature Association to study impacts of cheatgrass infestation on local wildlife. Another created a stunning video showing hummingbirds feeding and caring for their nestlings in a backyard ponderosa pine.

A dozen students have received scholarships to attend the National Audubon summer birding camp in Maine, where they photograph nesting puffins from cliff-top blinds and participate in bird banding sessions led by some of North America’s most respected ornithologists.

Eva Getman, 14, says the program has helped her feel more at home in the natural world while sharing her passion for nature with new friends.

“As a teenager, it sometimes feels like I can’t make a difference, no matter how much I care. However, being a teen naturalist means I’m regularly asked to take part in conservation activities, like bird surveys, and then provided information about what I can do to protect areas around my home and in the wilderness I love.”

Below are a few of the students’ still photos from our sessions in the Boulder tallgrass prairie preserves. Yan is helping the group edit their video footage, and we plan to have a short film ready to show by spring 2021.

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The South Boulder Creek and Boulder Tallgrass State Designated Natural Areas protect the largest remnants of Colorado’s native tallgrass prairies, including rare habitat for nesting bobolinks and Ute ladies-addresses orchids. To visit these areas, park at the South Boulder Creek West trailhead along SH 93, one mile south of Boulder; or the South Boulder Creek East trailhead at the intersection of SH 93 and Marshall Road.

To experience Yan Chun Su’s quiet, heartfelt documentaries about traditional peoples and the richness of their lives, visit www.waterdropfilms.com.

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Stephen R. Jones is the author of The Last Prairie, a Sandhills Journal and co-author of Peterson Field Guide to the North American Prairie, Wild Boulder County, and Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range. He taught in the Boulder Valley Schools for 33 years and currently works as a wildlife consultant. To find out more or register for the Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalist program, e-mail Steve at curlewsj@comcast.net.

Red milkweed beetle. Photo by Owen Robertson, 13. “I really like this photo because of the vibrancy of the red beetle (the red color warns predators that the beetle is full of milkweed toxins and not edible), and the detailed patterning on the antennae and back. I also like how the beetle is very symmetrical and sharp.”

(From left) Liam Abbott, Claire Vantol, Anyll Markevich, and Eva Getman getting personal with a praying mantis. Photo by Stephen Jones.

International filmmaker Yan Chun Su posing a praying mantis. Photo by Anyll Markevich, 16.

Female widow skimmer dragonfly. Photo by Owen Robertson, 13. “To get this photo, I had to move very slowly on my knees until I was close enough. One of my favorite things about this photo is the symmetry of the dragonfly, with the parallel yellow stripes going up the abdomen, and the intricate back pattern.”

Praying mantis. Photo by Anyll Markevich, 16. “I love macro photography because it shows things that we usually don’t see, even if they’re all around us. This praying mantis is no exception. Her oversized green eyes staring straight at the lens have an otherworldly feel.”

Sprouting Indian-grass. Photo by Grace Apodaca, 18.

Queen Anne’s lace seedhead at sunrise. Photo by Grace Apodaca, 18.

Monarch on milkweed. Photo by Eva Getman, 14. “By the time I was in third grade, I knew what monarchs were: fantastic orange and black butterflies that made impossible migrational journeys! They also were not any of the orange butterflies I was seeing. The first time I saw a wild monarch butterfly was the day I took this photo. I was very excited to finally see this butterfly that I had heard so much about! I was especially delighted that I got the photo while it was sitting on a milkweed flower, the monarch’s traditional food source.”

Prairie larkspur. Photo by Eva Getman, 14. “My Mom, Dad, and I went in search of an unusual white larkspur, a flower we had never seen before. There were a few specimens, but this spike particularly caught my eye. It stood alone, rising above the other flowers and contrasting with their darker colors, like a little patch of winter that had forgotten to melt.”

Black-tailed prairie dog pup. Eva Getman, 14. “I have always loved prairie dogs, and the babies are adorable as they explore, wrestle with each other, and, occasionally come up to the adults and touch noses. This little one was kind enough to sit still in a patch of flowers long enough for a picture.”

Recently-emerged monarch butterfly. Anyll Markevich, 16. “I love using photography to share the hidden beauty of nature, to show what is not always seen. Beauty can inspire people to care for, respect, and protect nature.”