Try Zion's educational opportunities

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The more you know about your natural surroundings while on the trail, the more rewarding the experience is going to be.

Learning about plants, wildlife and geology is a lifelong learning process but you can jump-start it or add to what you already know by taking an outdoor workshop through the Zion Canyon Field Institute. You'll not only get to spend a day or two in Zion National Park, making lasting memories, but also become more aware of your environment.

The institute, now in its fourth year, offers about 50 workshops and service projects throughout the year, suiting a variety of nature-oriented interests. Subjects range from bat biology and conservation to butterflies to plants and wildflower photography, all taught by experts.

One of the most exciting and popular outdoor adventure workshops is the Zion Narrows Service Project, which involves hiking seven miles round trip up the North Fork of the Virgin River to Orderville Canyon. Along the way, naturalist Ron Kay will introduce you to the geology, plants and animals in one of the most spectacular hiking canyons in the world. Participants clean up the famous Narrows, a brief task, on the return trip.

While most take place in Zion National Park, a few workshops are offered in nearby areas such as Cedar Breaks National Monument. For example, in July the monument is the setting for a wildflower photography workshop, taught by the institute's director Michael Plyler and botanist Doug Reynolds, who will help identify the flowers.

The workshops fill up fast, especially the photography and service projects, so if you are interested, call as soon as possible. If you aren't able to enroll in the workshop of your choice, as most are limited to 11 or less participants, or you happen to be visiting the area when a class isn't being offered, the institute does offer custom workshops for small groups. You can arrange something as simple as spending a day with a naturalist, or a multi-day seminar of greater depth.

Here is a sample of some of the summer classes:

June 24, Sept. 9 and 23 -- Zion Narrows Service Project. On this 7-mile interpretive, canyon hike, you will learn about the geology, plants, animals and the power of water. Most of the hiking will be in the Virgin River, over uneven terrain and on slippery surfaces.

June 10 -- Zion Geology. Learn how the four processes of deposition, lithification, uplift and erosion shaped Zion Canyon, and what part the Virgin River played and still plays in shaping the park.

June 12 -- Zion Ecology and Plant Classification. This workshop is designed for primary- and secondary-school teachers who want to integrate Southwest ecology into their classrooms in an enjoyable and exciting way. It includes indoor lectures and short, easy walks in the field.

July 7 -- Zion by Moonlight. Learn about bats, ringtails, mountain lions and other nocturnal creatures that call Zion home. This class starts in the afternoon with an indoor presentation; breaks for dinner; and then the group heads out for a night hike.

July 8 -- Life Zones II, Zion to Cedar Breaks. The group will stop and take short, interpretive walks as you travel through a variety of plant communities at different elevations, climates and soils. You will start in the mid-elevation shrub community in Zion's Kolob District, then move on to the forests and meadows at Cedar Breaks National Monument, and finally the alpine tundra at Brian Head.

July 12 -- Wildflower Photography. Join a photographer and a botanist in Cedar Breaks National Monument during peak wildflower season. Learn about identifying the flowers of the Markagunt Plateau and the best way to photograph them.

July 28 -- Bat Biology and Conservation. Learn about Zion's 18 species of bats. You will examine specimens of bats, learn how to build and place a bat house, and view them in nature when the group mist-nets them as part of a bat study in the park.

Aug. 11 -- The Geology of Cedar Breaks. Spend a day with a geologist and learn about the hoodoos, arches, fins and other geologic wonders that make up the amphitheater at Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Sept. 6 -- The Biology of Butterflies. Join a naturalist/entomologist and learn how to identify, find and even rear butterflies. This workshop starts with an indoor audiovisual presentation and then goes out in the field to observe butterflies.

The workshops are for adults, although some of them allow older teenagers when accompanied by a parent.

A complete list of workshops and detailed descriptions can be found online at www.zionpark.org. To request a catalog, call the institute at (800) 635-3959, or e-mail to zcfi@zionpark.org.

Deborah Wall is the author of "Great Hikes, A Cerca Country Guide," published by Stephens Press. She can be reached at Deborah@hikingthewest.com.