Past Events

November 15, 2023

This PBS documentary, The Hummingbird Effect, showcases these small but mighty birds that call Costa Rica home. This film features a team of l00 biologists, photographers, and naturalist guides who have contributed to making this masterpiece.

Hummingbirds are, of course, known for their miraculous flying ability. These prolific little pollinators evolved to fly backwards, sideways and can hover due to the fact they can rotate their wings in figure eight patterns. Their wings flap approximately 50 to 200 times per second. Over the 32 million years of evolution, their beaks evolved to capture the nectar they need to flap their wings. Although they can weigh less that a penny, they need to feed five to eight times per hour. Their 900 plus feathers are almost otherworldly in color. Although there are 500 species worldwide, only 50 live in Costa Rica

October 17, 2023

PBS: From Caves to Cosmos
”From Caves to Cosmos focuses on the deep roots of Native America: Who are America’s First Peoples and how did they create their unique world?

The film provides compelling evidence that ancient people had a very sophisticated relationship to their environment, a relationship from which we have much to learn. This enabled them to shape a way of life based on deep respect and appreciation for the earth, sky, and water. Their accomplishments include building complex cities and creating democratic societies long before the time of the ancient Greeks. They even developed scientific understandings of the cosmos and strategies to influence the elements.

July 12, 2023

Fantastic Fungi: The Magic Beneath Us
This engaging and inspiring documentary takes the audience on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet in ways we have not considered.

This 2019 documentary is directed by Louie Schwartzberg and combines time-lapse cinematography, CGI, and interviews in an overview of the biology, environmental roles, and various uses of fungi. The film is narrated by American actress, Brie Larson.

June 21, 2023

Presentation: The Native Bird Connection
The Nature Walkers Club is offered our Rossmoor community the opportunity to see these magnificent “teaching birds” live and up close. Victims of permanent psychological or physical damage, these birds currently serve as teachers and ambassadors for all ages. At the Orinda NBC, dedicated caretakers invest in their well-being, enabling them to thrive despite their captivity.

This rare opportunity was led by Jenny Papka, Director of Native Bird Connection (NBC), who will introduce us to several birds. She has 23 years of experience with over 30 species of raptors.

April 21, 2023

2^nd Annual Spring Garden Party

The Nature Walkers Club held our Second Annual Spring Garden Party for members and non-members alike.

The day was full of sunshine and warmth both by Mother Nature and by all who attended.

March 15, 2023

Project Coyote

This program was presented by Project Coyote, a Bay Area nonprofit organization dedicated to replacing fear of coyotes with understanding, respect and appreciation of their ecologic role and intrinsic worth.

Project Coyote, with the support of its fiscal sponsor, Earth Island Institute, promotes coexistence between people and wildlife rather than abuse, mismanagement, and extermination.

For more information about Project Coyote please visit their website at: projectcoyote.org.

Information about Earth Island Institute can be found at: www.earthisland.org.

Our presenter was Rob Ruiz, former Chief Ranger of Parks & Open Space.

January 23, 2023

Movie: Dare to be Wild
A romantic adventure based on the true story of Mary Reynolds, a modern-day heroine, and environmentalist Christy Collard, whose shared passion for the wild takes them from the green hills of Ireland to arid Ethiopia and then to London’s Chelsea Flower Show as they reach for their dreams, one garden, one vast desert at a time.

October, 2022

Movie: Winged Migration
“The movie was shot over the course of three years on all seven continents. Filming began in July 1998 and ended in spring 2001.

It was shot using in-flight cameras, most of the footage is aerial, and the viewer appears to be flying alongside birds of successive species, especially Canada geese. They traverse every kind of weather and landscape, covering vast distances in a flight for survival

 August 9 , 2022

Presentation: The Natural Beauty of Rossmoor – Cassie Tzur
The Nature Walker’s Club is sponsoring a talk on ” The Natural Beauty of Rossmoor”. Our speaker is Cassie Tzur, a Rossmoor resident known for leading monthly bird walks for interested residents and birders.

She will share her knowledge and photographs of Rossmoor’s beautiful environment.

May 31, 2022

Green Fire Film Project: The Life and Legacy of Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold (1887 – 1948)
Considered by many to be the father of wildlife ecology and the United States’ wilderness system, Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast. Green Fire describes the formation of Leopold’s idea, exploring how it changed one man and later permeated through all arenas of conservation.

One day while witnessing a dying wolf, Leopold reached the animal and was transfixed by a “fierce green fire dying in her eyes.” That experience changed him and put him on the path toward an ecocentric outlook. His rethinking the importance of predators in the balance of nature has resulted in the return of bears and mountain lions to New Mexico wilderness areas.

June 22, 2021

Presentation: The Importance of Trees to Children
Dr. Joe McBride, professor emeritus of UC Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management will speak to Rossmoor’s newest club, Nature Walkers.

He presented a talk of interest and inspiration to grandparents, mentors of children, anyone with children in their life and even to anyone who was once a child.

Professor McBride’s primary research, publications, and teaching during his 44 years at Cal have been on forestry ecology and urban forestry.

April 15, 2021

1st Nature Walkers Spring Garden Party
The Nature Walkers Club held our first Spring Garden Party for members and non-members alike.

We had a beautiful afternoon, and it was a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow Nature Walkers and other Rossmoor neighbors who share our love of nature and this beautiful place we call Rossmoor.

Founded in 2020

In our first year, we worked on the following:
Sponsored regular walks on the golf courses.
Advocated for a dedicated walking path.
Advocated for more community use of Peacock Plaza (Town Square).