Newsletter

October 2017

Issue 72

Skiing & Birds & Birdhouses

The partners of Skiing and Birds and the Alta Bird Survey Project are very excited to host our first birdhouse contest. Though we are entering winter, we hope this does not discourage your participation. As we see it, all the birdhouses will be ready to go and set out early for the birds in the spring.

The birdhouses that you are making with love will help support bird monitoring programs in Alta, and throughout the Salt Lake valley. All proceeds collected from the birdhouses sold in the Skiing and Birds silent auction December 9th, will support the first ever bird survey program in Alta.

We hope by participating in this contest you get to learn a little more about your feathered friends. Birdhouses not only provide shelter and homes for the birds, but come to provide a great opportunity for people of all ages to view and enjoy an array of birds.

Enjoy and thank you for helping!

The birdhouse contest is free. All entries must be dropped off or received by mail at Tracy Aviary by Monday, November 27, 4:00pm.

For more contest rules and conditions, birdhouse plans and resources, please visit: tracyaviary.org/upcoming-events/skiing-birds.

Alta Environmental Center PO Box 8007 • Alta, UT 84092

environment@alta.com 801.832.1700

Outdoor Education, Alta Style

This summer (per usual) was filled with stewardship, restoration and school groups. As we buzz up and down the mountain working, taking in the scenery, passing visitors, seeing wildlife, there is something that is going on everyday that we don’t often realize, learning. We learn where the moose like to hang out, where the most brilliant display of lupine are, and so much more. Each time we are outdoors working we are exposed to nature, and each time, nature reveals a little bit about itself. This my friends, is environmental education.

As a company we do a respectable effort working with our fellow employees and skiers to understand how we take care of our people, business, and environment. As we developed goals around sustainability, we also realized that in order to see progress, we need to share our efforts with those coming to Alta year-round. This is why upon inception the AEC set an objective to foster a culture of education and stewardship, and this is how:

Instill environmental appreciation by experiencing the outdoors Help them help us do our job better through scientific exploration Support outdoor education to build stewards for now and the future

The funny thing is we don’t have to search for people to meet this objective, they come to us. The number of school groups more than doubled this year and we were happy to show them how Alta Ski Area tries their best to take care of Alta, and we were even more ecstatic when they wanted to help. Even with these open doors, we have a long ways to go to support and grow a culture of education and stewardship. We saw about 100,000 visitors this summer alone, and only about 1.7% of them received a formal introduction to their natural environment. Our hope for building upon the power of learning is you. As you learn and continue to learn, feel free to share your knowledge. Thank you.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

— John Muir

October - November Sustainability Events

If these highlighted sustainability events catch your eye, check out our full sustainability calendar at alta.com/alta-environmental-center/resources#sustainability-events.

October 8-14—Utah Climate Week: Created by the Utah Climate Action Network to inspire conversation around Utah’s climate change issues. Movies, panels, campaigns and other events will highlight risks and opportunities. utahclimateactionnetwork.com/climateweek

October 9 & November 13—Monthly Bird Survey: It may be a bit chilly, but that doesn’t stop the birds from doing what they need to do before winter officially hits. Join Tracy Aviary for a pre-winter survey. alta.com/the-mountain/events/birding-in-alta

October 18—Volunteer Training: Have you been looking for a great place to share your time and give back? Join Cottonwood Canyons Foundation at REI, 6-8pm for their volunteer training to learn all sorts of opportunities. cottonwoodcanyons.org/volunteer

November 2—Utah Clean Energy Party: Salt Lake City’s premier event for all things clean energy! Join Utah’s most innovative leaders to seize our clean energy potential. Special guest speaker, Jeff Orlowski, the award winning Director of Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral. Utahcleanenergy.org

November 27—Skiing & Birds Birdhouse Contest Entries Due: You have just under two months to create a masterpiece for the birds, start today! tracyaviary.org/upcoming-events/skiing-birds

On Mountain Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Since 2013 the University of Utah’s (U) Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ENVST) program has been bringing their new students to Alta for their fall orientation. This year, spring orientation was added to the roster, bringing a tally of 380 students thus far to Alta to explore, learn, share, and get some outdoor work done. Though we host many different programs from the U, we have a special connection with the ENVST program.

The AEC believes our partnership with the U is very much rooted upon a simple notion, being outside and being outdoors are two completely different realities, and the ENVST program helped us address this issue. The time these students spend in Alta allows for a special thing to happen, and the theme of this newsletter, environmental education. These students are hoping to enter the fields of conservation, ski industry, transportation, business and more. What better way to help start their path by showing them one possible way things could be done? Even better, what if they could show us a better way?

Our goal with this partnership is to offer an application for academia. With this model we hope to bridge a gap between classroom and on-the-job learning, and maybe new insights on how we can improve our operations. Since our partnership began, ENVST has brought numerous interns to Alta, planted over 1000 trees, harvested over 1000 trees, started a long-term tree survival study, as well as bird survey program, and we’re positive there is much more to come. Thank you ENVST for all your hard work!