Three field trips are planned for the 2023 Conference. Sign up for field trips when you register for the Conference.
NOTE: If you sign up for a field trip, plan your travel accordingly to arrive in time for your scheduled field trip. Please note Field trips 1 & 2 are on Monday, the day before the Conference.
1) Jack’s Solar Garden
Website (check out videos): www.coagrivoltaic.org
Time: Monday, June 12, 8:30 am – 1:30 pm
Cost: $48.00, includes box lunch
Description: Jack’s Solar Garden is a family-owned social enterprise that has engaged in partnerships with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona on research focused on co-locating solar panels with agriculture – called agrivoltaics. Partnering with Sprout City Farms enables the cultivation of crops at Jack’s Solar Garden to put food back into our community while training young farmers on agrivoltaic techniques.
2) Cache la Poudre River History Tour
Time: Monday, June 12, 1:00 to 5:00 pm 
Cost: $15.00
Description: Enjoy a walking tour along The Cache la Poudre River, one of only 55 National Heritage Areas designated by the US Congress. This will be a guided tour, partially on foot and partially via bus. The tour starts with a bus ride from the conference venue to the start of the Cache la Poudre Trail system in Bellevue, CO. Your tour guide will be a member of the Poudre Heritage Alliance, who will provide insights on the water management and environmental history of the Poudre River as you visit many of the historic resources along the river, including Watson Lake, the Bellevue Hydraulic Irrigation Laboratory Interpretive Wayside, and the Great Western Suga Flume.
The tour will wrap up at one of the many micro-breweries along the Cache la Poudre River so that all participants can enjoy one of the products produced using local water resources. After enjoying a beverage or two, a bus will be available for participants to return to the conference venue. This tour will give participants an understanding of the amazing water heritage at Colorado State University and the role the Poudre River Valley played in developing irrigated agricultural systems in the Western U.S.
3) Colorado State University Water Resources Archives Tour
Time: Tour will occur within the Conference Schedule (TBD) – Limit 20 per tour
Cost: Free, w/option to purchase thumb drive with Digital Archives for $10.00
Description: The Colorado State University Water Resources Archive was a joint effort developed by the Colorado State University Libraries, and the Colorado Water Center in the early 2000s. From its inception in the early 2000s, the Water Archives has grown to include over 130 unique collections of documents, maps, personal correspondences, photographs, meeting minutes, and audiotapes that provide the historical context for water development across much of the intermountain west region. The Archive consists of collections from individuals and organizations that have been instrumental in the development of water resources in Colorado and the West. These collections include: the original technical documents for the Irrigation Investigations Unit of the USDA, which led to the development of the Parshall Flume; the Papers of Delph Carpenter “The Father of the Interstate Compact”; and original documents related to the development of the Colorado River Compact and its infrastructure. 
This tour will be led by Patricia 
Rettig, the Water Resource Archivist for the CSU Library, and will take place at the CSU Library Water Archives, which is adjacent to the conference venue. Patty will start the tour within an overview of the materials available within the archives, and end with a chance for each participant to explore the areas of the archive that are of most interest to them. In addition, all tour participants may purchase a thumb drive ($10) to provide them easy access to digital archive materials to continue their exploration after the conference has ended. For those that are interested in hydro-history, or those that are interested in building a water archives within their universities, this field trip is a must.
