Programs and Events

View our upcoming Calendar

Learn about our Signature Events, our Chefs in the Gardens cooking demonstration fundraiser series, our Science Elevated workshops designed to deepen your connection with the natural world, and other ways to explore and experience our gardens and participate in learning programs. Explore information and videos of previous presentations and programs.

Signature Events

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens signature events include:

Chefs in the Gardens
Sustainable Landscape Series
Science Elevated Speaker Series
Garden Tours
Yoga in the Gardens
Exclusive Member Events - Member Breakfast & Garden Soiree

Chefs in the Garden

This sell-out cooking demonstration fundraiser series supports Betty Ford Alpine Gardens work in horticulture, education and conservation.

July 13 -La Nonna Ristorante
July 20 - La Tour
July 27 -Pollyanna Productions + Curated Caviar
Aug 3 - Zino Ristorante
Aug 10 - Red Canyon Catering
Aug 17 - Roam

Tickets are $25/person and include a cooking demonstration by a local Vail Valley Chef and a taste of what the chef has prepared.

All chefs programs are on Thursdays and begin at noon in the lobby of the Gerald Ford Amphitheater.

Click Here for Tickets

Sustainable Workshop Series

Whether you are looking to use less water in your own garden or tour a far away lanscape, engage in this Science Elevated series to deepen your connection with the natural world.

6/14 - Get the Buzz on Bees (Pollinator Month)
6/28 - Western Plant Families - Carol Dawson
7/7 - Basic Botany - Denyse Schrenker (in Eagle)
7/12 - Kenton Seth - Crevice Gardening in a Dry Mountain Landscape 4-6 pm
7/14, 7/21, 7/28 - Native Plant Master Montane
7/26 - Pete Wadden, Town of Vail - Macroinvertebrates in Gore Creek

Please see our Summer Events Calendar to register and for additional dates and events.

Garden Tours

Every Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:30 this hour-long guided tour winds through the beautiful gardens ending at the quaint Schoolhouse Gift Shop in the Children’s Garden. Learn about alpine flora, mountain environments, rare collections, identification, and the history of the Gardens and Vail.

Reserve your ticket in advance directly from the calendar

More Information

Visit our calendar of events for ways to explore and experience our gardens and participate in learning programs.

Previous Programs & Events

The Arctic Be Dammed: Beaver Colonization of the Arctic

August 8, 2021

Dr. Ken Tape, University of Alaska Fairbanks

This webinar focused on the effects of a warming climate increasing vegetation in the arctic tundra. Beavers have moved in, building dams that accelerate permafrost melt.

Dr. Ken Tape is a Research Associate Professor, Snow, Ice and Permafrost Group, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. BFAG sponsored his exhibit, Then and Now, Changing Arctic Landscapes, from May - July 2016. Photographic comparisons of the Arctic tundra over time demonstrate the retreat of glaciers and an increase in shrubby vegetation as the climate warms.

Watch the Presentation

Saving the Alpine One Seed at a Time

February 28, 2021

Emily Griffoul

You think alpine plants are small? You should see the seeds! Join us for a virtual presentation with Betty Ford Alpine Gardens’ Conservation Scientist, Emily Griffoul. She will take viewers on a behind-the-scenes look at the process of conserving the alpine through the plants that are the backbone of this fragile ecosystem.

Griffoul is leading the implementation of the Gardens’ North American Strategy for Alpine Plant Conservation to promote understanding and protection of vulnerable alpine species and habitats through ex-situ collections, surveys and mapping of alpine areas, collaborations with partners in other gardens and federal agencies, and engaging with the public. She collects seed for preservation and propagation and surveys the alpine areas in Colorado with rare and endangered plants to develop understanding of the alpine and identify and address threats.

Brought to you in partnership with Vail Public Library and the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read. This speaker series is supported by the Town of Vail Commission on Special Events and a local family foundation.

Watch the Presentation

The Amazing Alice Eastwood

January 20, 2021

Dr. Steve Ruskin

When Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-author with Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution, came to Colorado in 1887, he wanted an expert to guide him to alpine plant locations. Alice Eastwood (1859-1953), the self-taught high school teacher in Denver, was the best there was. She wrote a guide to flora of the Denver area in 1890, and, afterward, began extending her field observations to other parts of Colorado and then onward to California. Eastwood became the herbarium curator for the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in 1891 where she remained until she voluntarily retired at the age of 90. Alice is most famous for her daring act of rescuing the type specimens of California plants – those that are the defining ones for a species – from the wreckage and fire of the 1906 earthquake. Join historian Steve Ruskin for his take on her life.

Watch the Presentation

Creating the Caucasus Garden

January 12, 2021

Nick Courtens

A journey with Betty Ford Alpine Gardens' curator, Nick Courtens about the vision and creation of the Caucasus Garden (rock garden) in Ford Park.

Watch Presentation

Restoration of the Gray Wolf to Colorado: What Does Science Tell Us

October 15, 2020

Dr. Rebecca Niemiec and Dr. Kevin Crooks
CSU Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence

A ballot initiative to reintroduce the Gray Wolf in Colorado will be put before the voters of Colorado this November. The ballot measure would require reintroduction on designated lands to begin by December 31, 2023.

Please join Dr. Rebecca Niemiec and Dr. Kevin Crooks of the CSU Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence as they discuss the ecology and public perspectives of wolf reintroduction in the state.

Dr. Rebecca Niemiec’s research focuses on understanding the drivers and outcomes of community conservation action. She is particularly interested in applying conservation psychology theory and methods to design and evaluate community outreach and engagement programs for conservation.

Dr. Kevin Crooks’ research has emphasized the ecology and conservation of mammals, often focusing on carnivores due to their sensitivities to environmental disturbances.

Watch the Presentation

The Colorado River and Changing Climate

Science Elevated Speaker Series
August 25, 2022

Brad Udall
Senior Water and Climate Research Scientist, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University

Water is life for mountain communities. How do the changes in climate impact the future of the Valley? Climate scientists agree that the Colorado River Basin is already much warmer and will continue to get warmer – over 1°C since the mid 20th century and potentially 2°C or more by mid-century – resulting in reduced stream flows and increased system losses. Udall explains what this means for the ecosystem and all those dependent who live and recreate in this area.

Watch Presentation

A Splendid Journey: Famous 19th Century Botanical Explorers in Colorado Rockies

July 28, 2020

Dr. Steve Ruskin

Join historian and author Dr. Steve Ruskin as he describes the unique individuals who discovered and documented the botanical wonders of Colorado.

Watch Presentation

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

Programs and Events

View our upcoming Calendar

Signature Events

Chefs in the Garden

Sustainable Workshop Series

Garden Tours

Garden Tours

Previous Programs & Events

The Arctic Be Dammed: Beaver Colonization of the Arctic

August 8, 2021

Saving the Alpine One Seed at a Time

February 28, 2021

The Amazing Alice Eastwood

January 20, 2021

Creating the Caucasus Garden

January 12, 2021

Restoration of the Gray Wolf to Colorado: What Does Science Tell Us

October 15, 2020

The Colorado River and Changing Climate

Science Elevated Speaker SeriesAugust 25, 2022

A Splendid Journey: Famous 19th Century Botanical Explorers in Colorado Rockies

July 28, 2020

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Science Elevated Speaker Series
August 25, 2022