  Kids and Adult Naturalist Field School classes are offered throughout the summer. Programs OverviewACES' role in serving the schools of the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond has grown exponentially during the past decade. In response to economic cutbacks, ACES educators re-integrated environmental education into the public school curriculum, resulting in a specially dedicated classroom for environmental education at the Aspen Public Schools. ACES is known for its Naturalist Field School that brings professors from all over the country each summer to teach nearly 4-dozen field courses and workshops. The varied, in-depth curriculum, which takes advantage of the diverse Rocky Mountain environment, covers a broad range of subjects from Poetry and Nature to Ornithology. Children's courses offer discovery of birds, reptiles, amphibians, wetlands, and wilderness. Adult students may receive college credit for many of ACES' Naturalist Field School Courses through the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University. ACES also conducts an intensive internship program that employs and trains more than 20 young naturalists each year. This program has been recognized by the Princeton Review as one of "America's Top 100 Programs." Naturalist interns receive valuable education, training, and experience while conducting year-round interpretive programs at Hallam Lake, Aspen Mountain, Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area, Snowmass Ski Area, and in the National Forest lands around Aspen. During the summer, daily programs include naturalist-guided walks; eagle, hawk, and owl demonstrations; one- and two-hour programs for children; sunset beaver walks; and interpretive campground programs. During the winter, daily programs include naturalist-guided snowshoe tours on top of Aspen Mountain, Snowmass Ski Area and at Ashcroft in the Castle Creek Valley; naturalist-guided ski tours at Snowmass; and weekly slide shows where local adventurers and biologists share tales of adventures abroad. ACES' interpretive programs on top of Aspen Mountain helped garner the prestigious Golden Eagle Award (for environmental excellence) for the Aspen Skiing Company. Year-round, on-site naturalists are available to provide information about nature and wildlife; care for ACES' resident, non-releasable birds of prey; perform wildlife rehabilitation duties; interact with visitors; and give tours of the Hallam Lake Nature Preserve. |