The complete list of all the Mono Lake Committee’s 2024 Field Seminars is now available online here. Registration opens at 9:00am on Thursday, February 1 for Mono Lake Committee members.
This year’s slate of 18 Field Seminars includes one-day and multi-day options, and spans many topics: foraging, butterflies, wildflowers, geology, birds, pastels, water policy, and more!
The Committee’s Lead Naturalist Guide Nora Livingston will be leading five seminars this year on Mono Basin natural history, wildflowers, and birding. There will also be three photography seminars and a pastels seminar for those who want to capture Mono Lake’s dramatic and beautiful landscape.
Fans of Greg Stock’s Geology of the Mono Basin will have two chances to sign up this year, in September and October. Like last year, the Geology of the Mono Basin seminars will be filled through a lottery system—learn more here about how the lottery works.
The Committee is excited about several brand new seminars this year. Author of The Sierra Forager, Mia Andler, will lead Foraging in the Eastern Sierra. In this seminar, participants will search for plants, cook, and make plant-based products. Butterfly and moth expert Paul Johnson will be leading Butterflies & Moths of the Eastern Sierra. In this three-day course participants will experience butterflies in their most vibrant and beautiful forms!
Finally, the Committee is actively making our programs more accessible and inclusive. In this effort, we are offering three field seminars at reduced costs for intentional communities. First, Nora will lead Mono Basin Ecology for Families, which is open to families with kids ages 6 and up; there will be something for everyone, no matter their age. Former Committee Outdoor Education Instructor, Bree Salazar, will lead her Communing With(in) Nature seminar, which is specifically designed to create a space for BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) participants and field instructors to connect with the Eastern Sierra. New instructor Stacey Villalobos will lead Cuentos y Cantos al Desierto; this bilingual seminar is specifically designed to create a space for native and heritage Spanish-speaking participants and field instructors to connect with the Eastern Sierra.
For members seeking to support these programs and the Committee’s initiatives to develop more accessible and inclusive environmental education spaces, there will be an option to donate during registration.
Have a look at the seminars now so you know what to sign up for when registration opens on Thursday, February 1 at 9:00am for Mono Lake Committee members. If you are not a Committee member, but you wish to register in February, you may join the Committee and sign up for the class of your choice at the same time on February 1. If you have any questions, you can check the list of frequently asked questions, email the Field Seminar team, or call (760) 647-6595.
Top photo by Ryan Garrett: Participants on a Birding Mono Basin Hotspots field seminar.