Boulder County
Parks & Open Space Foundation

The Foundation contributed to the following projects in 2020:

• Nearly $400,000 to remodel the Volunteer Naturalist Center at Walden Ponds Wildlife Habitat. This included replacing the center’s roof, installing energy-efficient skylights, painting the exterior, wi-fi installation, replacing the HVAC system, and site surveying for an interpretive storage building and a small picnic/program shelter next to the center.
• $15,000 to purchase a portable sawmill to use for forestry project logs to create benches and tables for visitors.
• Funding a wildlife staff to reach out to adjacent landowners for wildlife protection and partnerships.
• Contributing to the graphic design services of the Walnut Wonders booklet.

Thanks to your generous donations, we raised our goal of $19,335!

In September of 2013, the Anne U. White Trail trail located in north Boulder was completely destroyed by flood waters.

Below is a summary of the estimated costs to restore this treasured resource to its former splendor. The Boulder County Parks & Open Space department is in the process of identifying a provider to grow the woody and wetland plants; it is predicted that the growth of these plants will take a year or more before they will be ready for transplant.

The White Family

Anne U. White was one of the early proponents to preserve open space in Boulder County and one of the initial members of the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee.

Gilbert Fowler White, Anne's husband, was a prominent American geographer, sometimes termed the "father of floodplain management" and the "leading environmental geographer of the 20th century." Learn more about Gilbert on Wikipedia or by watching a short video.

Mary White is one of Anne and Gilbert's three children. In 2010, Mary worked with a committee of local engineers, government officials, and artists to honor Gilbert's work with a beautiful flood marker that sits beside Boulder Creek, just east of Broadway. The marker has indicators for the 50, 100 and 500 year flood levels. Learn more about the Boulder Creek Flood Level Marker Project.

The Left Hand Outdoor Challenge is a program that teaches Boulder County teens how to be outdoor leaders, to take action as stewards of Boulder County's open spaces, and to explore careers in natural resource management.

Teens complete monthly challenges designed to teach participants the skills to complete a final challenge highlighting their leadership and resource management knowledge.

In 2015 the program had 35 participants ranging from 14 – 18 years old and 9 adult volunteer program leaders. Participants learned about other natural resource agencies and developed a broader sense of outdoor careers. Participants were invited to Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and were the first non-staff group to monitor re-introduced Black-Footed Ferrets.

We help provide the operating budget needed for this amazing program to run effectively and impact Boulder County area teenagers.

Parks and Open Space offers free education programs to students in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts. But sometimes the transportation costs for buses to the sites can be prohibitive.

We work closely with Parks and Open Space to provide funding for schools that need assistance covering bus costs. Each year, we make it possible for hundreds of students to attend places like the Walker Ranch homestead, the Agricultural Heritage Center, Walden Ponds, and Heil Valley Ranch. This allows students to experience the hands-on learning and nature immersion at these sites.