Outdoors: Quarryhill’s garden is in bloom plus more March hiking

The first nature walk of the “Essence of the Garden” series at Quarryhill Botanical Garden will be Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to noon. The walk will be led by Quarryhill docent Kathleen Aspenns, a certified flower essence practitioner. She will share the history, lore, botanical knowledge, and the healing gifts of Quarryhill’s wild Asian flora during a stroll in the garden where camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons come to life in early spring. The Essence of the Garden nature walk series continues April 27, June 8, and July 13. For more information and to sign up, go to quarryhillbg.org/page174.html. The fee for each walk is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. Please register in advance.

A guided nature walk will be held on March 16 at Bouverie Preserve, the 535-acre former estate hit hard by the Nunns fire in 2017. Participants are divided into small groups and paired with a trained Bouverie volunteer to explore the mixed evergreen forest and flower-carpeted oak woodland as they enter their second summer, post-fire. Nature walks begin at 10 a.m. and end at noon, and are no more than 2.5 miles long. Visitors of all ages are welcome. Minors under 18 must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. Suggested donation is $20 per person. More at egret.org/visit_bouverie.

March 16 also gives spiritually-inclined hikers a chance to practice “forest bathing,” or Shinrin Yoku, at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, as part of its Parks RX program the third Saturday of each month. These walks are led by certified ANFT (Association of Nature and Forest Therapy) practitioners. See natureandforesttherapy.org/ for more information about this practice, or meet at the visitors center at 9:30 a.m. Cost is $20, $15 for Sonoma Ecology Center members or park volunteers, free with a prescription from a participating medical provider. Reserve at brownpapertickets.com/event/4090665.

More ambitious nature lovers might want to attend the Introduction to Backpacking class at Sugarloaf, also on March 16, starting at 10 a.m. Inga Aksamit will lead a three-hour course covering the basics of self-contained overnight camping, and examining appropriate gear. She will bring examples of all the gear needed. No actual hiking is involved in this instructional session, the goal is to introduce participants to modern, lightweight backpacking strategies. This class will be held at the Robert Ferguson Obseratory classroom; brownpapertickets.com/event/3508916 for $10 registration.

The following day, Sunday, March 17, Bob Young will lead a two-hour walk along the Canyon Trail to photograph the waters of upper Sonoma Creek. Water photography takes different technics that scenic, emphasizing time exposure and, of necessity, tripods. Bring water and good hiking shoes. Meet at the visitor center at 9am. Class limited to ten people; reserve and purchase at brownpapertickets.com/event/4092861.