Zion Canyon Field Institute Moves to Higher Ground with Three Classes

The summer is heating up and so Zion Canyon Field Institute is moving to the high ground at Cedar Breaks National Monument. In July the Institute is offering three classes at higher elevations.

July 7th brings Life Zones II: Zion to Cedar Breaks. This class familiarizes participants with the biotic plant zones starting with Pinyon/Juniper forests and moving all the way up to sub-alpine at Brian Head. Gaining 1,000 feet of elevation is the same as traveling 600 miles north in latitude in terms of the changes in plant communities that one encounters. Join our knowledgeable botanist, Walt Fertig, as we travel through these life zones and gain an understanding of the plant communities and ecosystems.

For those of you wanting to access your creative inner-self we have two classes that can help you with that process. July 11th brings Wildflower Photography at Cedar Breaks and July 14th we are offering Wildflower Journaling. Whether you “draw” with your camera or pencils and watercolors, experiencing the cool summer days at Cedar Breaks during peak wildflower season is just the ticket. The Wildflower Photography class is co-taught with a photographer and a botanist so you may learn about the beauty you are photographing. The Journaling class will be taught by Sandy Bell the instructor for the Illustrated Journal class in Zion during September. Sandy’s journaling class last year in Zion filled early and participants were delighted with the class. So do yourself a favor and register early!

All these classes take place during the second annual Wildflower Festival at the monument. Running from July 1st - 22nd , the festival highlights the incomparable beauty of Cedar Breaks when it is at its “showy” best. All during the festival there will be free naturalist-guided hikes to help visitors identify the blooming beauties and understand more about the beauty they are experiencing!

For more information about ZCFI classes or to register call 435-772-3264 OR 800-635-3959 OR GO TOO www.zionpark.org. For information about the Cedar Breaks Wildflower Festival call 435-586-9451.

• Wildflower Festival Cedar Breaks National Monument will host its first Wildflower Festival June 30-July 16. Visitors can participate in guided hikes focusing on the flowers and how to identify them. According to Steve Robinson, chief park ranger at Cedar Breaks National Monument, the wildflower display is expected to be especially beautiful this year.

• Plan Your Visit From early June to mid-October, the visitor center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visitor facilities are CLOSED from mid-October through late May. For more information on Cedar Breaks National Monument click here.