Tour the High Plains Environmental Center and the Chapungu Sculpture Park Native Gardens 

Join us in Loveland, CO, to tour the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC) and the Chapungu Sculpture Park Native Gardens with Jim Tolstrup, HPEC Executive Director, and Sabrina Kershman, Horticulture Manager.  

The HPEC is a "living lab" designed to explore the connection between sustainable living and ecological processes that foster personal and community well-being. The center’s grounds feature diverse native plant demonstration gardens and include rainwater catchment and filtration systems, native shrub hedgerows and windbreaks, a medicine wheel garden, native riparian plantings, native turf, and a native plant nursery. The nearby Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra displays 82 monumental stone sculptures from Zimbabwean artisans across 26-acres of gardens that showcase native and regionally adapted plants. 

The day will be divided between HPEC and Chapungu Sculpture Park. From 9 am to noon, we will tour HPEC and have the opportunity to shop for native plants (fall is a great time to plant natives).  

Between noon and 1:30 pm, we will break for lunch and to drive ourselves (or carpool where possible) to the Chapungu Sculpture Park, which is 4.4 miles from HPEC.  Lunch may be purchased at one of the restaurants in the Centerra Shopping Center, which is next to the Chapungu Sculpture Garden.  Please note that restaurants may have mask mandates in place due to the Delta variant.  Alternatively, you may choose to bring a lunch and find a shady spot to eat.

From 1:30 pm to 3 pm, we will tour the Chapungu Sculpture Park.  Please park in the lot behind Macy's at 5995 Sky Pond Drive, Loveland, CO.  We will meet at the marked Entrance 2 to the Chapungu Sculpture Park, which is adjacent to the parking lot.

While the High Plains Environmental Center is a family-focused organization, this tour will be limited to adults. To learn more about opportunities for youth engagement at HPEC, check out their school programs and events.

Due to limited capacity, no refunds will be granted for cancellations.

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