Highlands Center for Natural History

Summer Nature Camp: 30 Years of Wonder: Past, Present, Wild (Ages 6-13)
2026-06-01 08:00 - 2026-06-05 16:00 UTC | Highlands Center For Natural History, 1375 S Walker Rd, Prescott, AZ, 86303
This summer, we’re celebrating 30 years of Nature Camp with a theme rooted in curiosity, connection, and nature discovery. Each week, campers will explore the natural world through time. Looking at the past, experiencing nature in the present, and imagining the wild future we’re helping to protect.
Through hands-on exploration, trail time, nature-based lessons, and environmental science, campers will investigate water, plants, animals, and ecosystems while building confidence, friendships, and a sense of belonging. Whether it’s their first summer at camp or one of many, every camper becomes part of the story as we celebrate three decades of wonder and look ahead to many more.

Summer Nature Camp: 30 Years of Wonder: Past, Present, Wild (Ages 3.5-5)
2026-06-01 08:00 - 2026-06-05 13:00 UTC

Spring Concert: Doc Garvey’s Remedy
2026-05-30 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Phoenix)
If you mix years of music making in clubs with playing the Atlantic Pop Festivals, the geographic flavors of Nashville, Austin, Boston, Phoenix and what do you get?
You get a mixture of Folk, Blues, Rockabilly and roots music known as Doc Garvey’s Remedy!

Discovery Saturdays
2026-05-30 09:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-25 09:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-28 09:00 - 12:00 UTC
Come on out to the Highlands Center for Natural History for Discovery Saturday! Learning Stations highlighting the many wonders of the Central Highlands will be set up throughout our Discovery Gardens. The learning stations provide each visitor the chance to learn and to become wise caretakers of the land.
This program is FREE

Peace in the Pines: a Guided Grief Support Journey
2026-05-28 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Phoenix)
We know—both intuitively and through science—that nature is profoundly healing. When we spend time in wild, quiet places, something inside us begins to soften, settle, and restore. To show up fully for our families, our communities, and ourselves, we must first give ourselves space to reconnect—with our breath, our grief, and the natural world.
That’s why Peace in the Pines takes place in the heart of the Ponderosa pine forest of Prescott National Forest, on the grounds of the Highlands Center for Natural History. Here, you can hear the wind whispering through the tall pines, feel your footsteps grounding into the earth, and notice the presence of birds, Abert’s squirrels, and other wildlife. This setting is more than a backdrop—it’s an active participant in your healing.
Details:
To foster connection and continuity, Peace in the Pines is a grief group that runs from May 28th to July 16th, with the same participants throughout. All members join at the beginning and journey through the full program together. The group meets for 8 Thursdays in a supportive, facilitated setting, designed to encourage personal exploration and healing on the beautiful grounds of the Highlands Center.
After we receive your registration, you will receive an email questionnaire and a brief pre-screening conversation will be scheduled to ensure the group is a good fit for your current needs and support goals.
The total fee for the program is $20, which includes all materials. For the benefit of all, please be able to commit to attending all eight sessions.

Arizona Weather Wonders with KNAU Meteorologist Lee Born
2026-05-27 12:30 (America/Phoenix)
The five distinct seasons of Arizona will be explored through this program, highlighting the unique characteristics and weather patterns that define each one. From the dry heat of early summer to the dramatic monsoon season and cooler winter months, each season offers something different. The state’s diverse geography—from deserts to high mountains—also plays a significant role in shaping the weather experienced across the region.
Lee Born is a Flagstaff-based meteorologist with 25 years of experience. After starting in the U.S. Navy and earning a degree from San Jose State University, he built a career in aviation and broadcast meteorology. He now works with KNAU, helping Northern Arizona residents understand everyday weather.

manos Percussion
2026-05-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-23 14:00 - 16:00 UTC
Ticket Price: $35
Join monos Percussion as they return for an afternoon of joyful, captivating music! Get ready to be inspired as we celebrate the USA’s 250th year!

Community Nature Study Series: The Rarest Fish in the World: Current Research on Desert Fish Management and Recovery
2026-05-20 12:00 (America/Phoenix)
The Rarest Fish in the World: Current Research on Desert Fish Management and Recovery
Fish species found in North American deserts represent some of the most unique, rare taxa in the world. Because these fishes live in aquatic “islands”- i.e., springs, streams and rivers separated from other water bodies by vast, harsh deserts- they have evolved to cope with life on the edge in their aquatic environments. Fish in arid lands are diverse, ranging from pupfish that inhabit small springs 40°C and almost five times the salinity of seawater; to some of the most southern trout species in North America; to the largest minnow in North America, a fish nearly 2 m long. A changing climate, an increasing human population, and nonnative species are putting these species at critical risk. Here I show how the habitat of these fishes is becoming increasingly fragmented and warmer; and discuss specific research being conducted to understand their tolerance to high temperatures and changes in habitat. Furthermore, I will show how research is providing managers tools to help cope with human-caused change such as techniques to cool streams, methods to captively propagate species to help prevent their extinction, methods to reduce interactions with nonnative competing species in the few water bodies remaining, and how the public is being acquainted with these animals. Protecting these genetic masterpieces, which are part of our Southwestern heritage, from extinction in the face of human-caused environmental change is a monumental challenge facing both aquatic conservation biologists of North American desert regions and all of us who live here.
Scott A. Bonar
Scott A. Bonar is a Professor of Natural Resources at the University of Arizona and is leader of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Bonar has conducted award winning research in natural resources programs of state and federal governments, universities and private industry for over 40 years, authoring 230 publications, over 140 which were peer-reviewed journal articles, reports, book chapters, or books on fisheries biology and management and natural resource communication. He specializes on Western fishes, especially those of the desert Southwest. Bonar is Past-President of the American Fisheries Society, the oldest and largest scientific fisheries society of the world, where he coordinated a statement from 111 aquatic scientific societies from all seven continents on the need for rapid climate change action to conserve the world’s aquatic species and environments, which was reported in the journal Nature. In 2022 he won the Award of Excellence from AFS’s Fisheries Management Section. Bonar’s book on natural resource communication, The Conservation Professional’s Guide to Working with People was called “a must read” by the journal Ecology; and he was lead editor of Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes, a best seller of the American Fisheries Society which involved contributions from over 500 fisheries professionals from almost 200 organizations across North America. In his free time he enjoys time with his family, woodworking, hiking, snorkeling, jazz clarinet, SCUBA, and showing others why the desert Southwest is such a great place for a fish biologist.

Wednesday Wanderings
2026-05-20 08:00 - 09:30, 2026-05-06 08:00 - 09:30, 2026-04-15 08:00 - 09:30, 2026-04-01 08:00 - 09:30 UTC
Our guided nature walks involve a walk on wooded trails with a local expert to learn about the Central Highlands ecoregion.
These walks are on the unpaved trails on the Highlands Center’s 80-acre campus. These trails are rocky and occasionally have steep and rocky inclines. Make sure to bring water, wear appropriate hiking shoes, and bring hiking poles if desired, dress in protective layers, and wear sun protection. Bring your own snacks to enjoy if you would like!
Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday

Community Nature Study Series with Carrie Calisay Cannon: Plants, Inspiring the People: Reflections on Two Decades of the Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project
2026-05-14 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Community Nature Study Series with Carrie Calisay Cannon: Plants, Inspiring the People: Reflections on Two Decades of the Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project
The ethnobotanical story of the Hualapai Tribe begins with the plant knowledge the people have inherited from their great grandparents who lived entirely off the land. Hualapai grandchildren live in a completely different modern world full of TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and text messaging. The Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project in its twentieth year is an intergenerational program focused on maintaining traditional plant knowledge as a lived practice. The one million acre Hualapai Indian Reservation spans the middle of the Colorado River along 108 miles of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau. The ancestral land base geographically encompasses both Mojave and Sonoran Desert types. This is a region of the world that is botanically distinctive and rare. Information presented will share about the project examining the crucial role that traditional plant knowledge has played in Hualapai culture, knowledge fine-tuned and perfected over millennia.
Reserve your spot as space is limited.
Presenter Info:
Carrie Calisay Cannon
Carrie Calisay Cannon is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, and also of Oglala Lakota, and German ancestry. She has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and an M.S. in Resource Management. She is employed with the Hualapai Indian Tribe of northern Arizona fulltime as an Ethnobotanist, working towards promoting the persistence of tribal plant knowledge as a living practice and tradition. By weekend she is a lapidary and silversmith artist who enjoys chasing the beautiful as she creates Native southwestern turquoise jewelry.

The Lazy Gardener: Gardening with Native Plants
2026-05-07 14:00 - 15:30, 2026-04-23 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Phoenix)
The Highlands Center for Natural History presents
The Lazy Gardener: Gardening with Native Plants
If you love to garden but don’t want to devote much time, energy, or just plain muscle power to a garden, native plants are for you. You can transform your garden into a haven for birds, bees, and butterflies, while conserving water, ending dependence on fertilizers, and reducing your gardening workload. There are two classes of basic native gardening principles, each 90 minutes long.
INSTRUCTOR: Kathleen Dickinson has training as a Master Gardener and as a Habitat Steward from the National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat program. She has worked creating backyard habitat since 2000, and has taught Gardening with Native Plants for Yavapai College, and the Highlands Center For Natural History. She is also currently volunteering with the City of Prescott Water Resources Department.
Members fee: $20 Non-members fee: $25

Family Forest Play
2026-05-07 10:01 - 12:00 (America/Phoenix), 2026-04-30 10:01 - 12:00 UTC, 2026-04-09 10:01 - 12:00 UTC, 2026-04-02 10:01 - 12:00 UTC
Bring your littles to The Highlands Center for some family fun in the forest. We will meet in Forest Play select Thursday mornings to read stories, play games, make crafts, go on hikes, and enjoy time in nature together. Stories and activities will be centered around a different theme each week and are specifically designed for ages 0-5 years old. Come dressed for the elements and bring your water, lunch, or snack to enjoy under the pines!
We limit each date of this amazing program to 25 children and their families, and spots fill fast! Please join the waitlist even if it is full, we do our best to fill in spots if/when people let us know they are no longer able to attend.

Grow Native! Plant Sale
2026-05-02 09:00 - 15:00, 2026-05-01 09:00 - 15:00 UTC
This is a two day event: May 1st and 2nd 9-3
Bring your garden back to life with native plants sourced locally! Perfect for pollinators, water-wise landscapes, and low-maintenance yards.

Natural History Book Club
2026-05-01 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Sitting in the Highlands Center ramada while the wind rustles through the ponderosa pine needles and a robin chirps, there is a moment of silent contemplation. Natural history is complicated – personal and universal at the same time. Our Natural History book club met beginning in 2021 and the discussions occasionally resulted in these special moments of quiet thoughtfulness.
We’re excited to continue to offer this free and open to the public program. Reading is something on many of our “to-do” lists, but some of us need a little extra incentive, like having a group that meets monthly to discuss. This group focuses on books related to natural history, with some southwestern component, written in the last decade or so. Books are selected by the group and then sold in the Benson Family Nature Store. We take our time reading – two months for each book. And we encourage personal connections, as well as universal questioning, when we come together for our meetings. People can jump in at any time!
Join the Natural History Book Club today!
Book club meetings are the first Friday of each month from 1pm-2pm and meet in the beautiful outdoor setting of the Discovery Gardens Ramada, weather depending.
2026 Natural History Book Club Books and Dates:
February / March
The Age of Loneliness: Essays, by Laura Marris
April / May
The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light, by Craig Childs
June / July
The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape, by Katie Holten
August / September
The Hidden Seasons: A Calendar of Nature’s Clues, by Tristan Gooley
October / November
Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration, by Rebecca Heisman

MEMBER only Plant sale
2026-04-30 17:00 - 19:00 UTC
Bring your garden back to life with native plants sourced locally! Perfect for pollinators, water-wise landscapes, and low-maintenance yards.

Community Nature Study Series-Dark Skies of Yavapai County: Light Pollution & Solutions
2026-04-15 12:30 UTC
Step outside on a clear Yavapai County night and be among a small group of people on Earth who can see the Milky Way from your own backyard. This talk reviews “dark skies”, why light pollution is accelerating, and how it affects the things we care about; nighttime safety, clear views of the night sky, and preserving the heritage of northern Arizona’s dark skies. You’ll learn the most common lighting mistakes and the simple, practical fixes that make the biggest difference in outdoor lighting; shielding, aiming lights down and using smart controls. We’ll also highlight local momentum, including the recently updated Yavapai County Outdoor Lighting Standard and building codes for unincorporated areas.
Presenter Bio:
Brian Blau is a former tech executive who is now retired and enjoying some of northern Arizona’s greatest natural resources: its dark skies and the Arizona central highlands. Brian is currently the Vice President of the Prescott Astronomy Club, where he supports community education and outreach and helps appreciate and protect the renowned dark skies of Yavapai County. Brian is also a member of the Highlands Center’s Board of Directors, bringing strengths in strategic planning, communications, and partnership building to further the Center’s mission.

The Wild Dark: An author talk and book signing with Craig Childs
2026-04-11 13:00 - 14:30 UTC
A night sky is not an absence of light; it is the presence of the universe. In The Wild Dark, master storyteller Craig Childs embarks on a quest to bike from the blinding lights of the Las Vegas Strip to one of the darkest spots in North America. Childs is a fearless explorer of both the natural world and the human imagination, making him the perfect guide to help us rediscover the heavens and to ask: “What does it do to us to not see the night sky?” In a book that is at once an adventure story, a field guide, and a celebration of wonder, Childs invites us to look up and to look inward, eyes wide and sparkling with stars.
Craig Childs has published more than a dozen books of adventure, wilderness, and science. He has won the Orion Book Award, the Galen Rowell Art of Adventure Award, the Spirit of the West Award, and most recently the prestigious and coveted John Burroughs Medal for his body of work, and three times he’s won the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award. He is a contributing editor at Adventure Journal Quarterly, and his writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, and The New York Times, where he’s been called “a modern-day desert father.” He has a B.A. in Journalism from CU Boulder with a minor in Women’s Studies, and an M.A. in Desert Studies from Prescott College in Arizona. He’s taught graduate courses in writing at University of Montana and the MFA programs at University of Alaska and Southern New Hampshire University. He lives off-grid in southwest Colorado.
Admission: $25
Early Registration (HCNH Members Only)
✅ HCNH Members may register now through March 1, 2026.🚫 Non-members cannot register until March 1, 2026.Starting March 1, 2026, registration will open to the general public (as space allows).
Partner: Books will be available for purchase from Peregrine Book Company
Become a Member

Volunteer Fair
2026-03-27 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Phoenix)
Volunteer Fair
March 27, 2026
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Join us at the Highlands Center for Natural History Volunteer Fair and discover how you can help connect children and adults with the natural world. Through nature-based education, outdoor experiences, and community programs, we inspire lifelong appreciation and care for the environment.
There is a place for you to make a lasting impact in our community.

Butterflies of Northern Arizona with Becky Hardy
2026-03-24 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Becky Hardy, President of Butterfly Enthusiasts of Northern Arizona (BENA), has had a lifelong passion, interaction and observation of butterflies. Butterflies aren’t just enchanting and mystical. There is a complex structure that defines their families. Each butterfly family has its own, specific characteristics that can help identify their species. Join us to learn about butterfly biology, how to ID Northern Arizona butterflies and more!
In partnership with Prescott Audubon Society

For more information about BENA, visit: www.ButterflyEnthusiastsofNAZ.org.
