Thorne Ecological Institute was founded in 1954 by Dr. Oakleigh Thorne, II when he was a graduate student in Biology at the University of Colorado. Over its five decades, the Institute has reached over 175,000 people through hands-on Environmental Education programs. The emphasis has been on the teaching of Ecological Principles. Since 1957, Thorne has been a leader in "connecting kids to nature," through the Thorne Natural Science School (TNSS), exciting outdoor field trip classes in Natural History; Project BEAR (Building Environmental Awareness and Respect), the Institute's unique In-School program; the Sombrero Marsh Environmental Education Center program; and the Thorne at Waterton Canyon program.

In its early years, Thorne Ecological Institute, through Dr. Thorne and Dr. Bettie Willard, its first Executive Director, played a leading role in the establishment of several influential environmental groups, such as the Colorado Field Office of The Nature Conservancy (Dr. Thorne was TNC's first representative in the state of Colorado), the Audubon Society of Greater Denver, the Aspen Center for Environmental Sciences (ACES), the Keystone Science Center, Balarat (Denver Public Schools) and Calwood Outdoor Education Centers (above Jamestown), the Colorado Open Space Coordinating Council (COSCC), and the Rocky Mountain Center on the Environment (ROMCOE), which later grew into the Colorado Environmental Coalition (CEC).

In the 1960s, Dr. Thorne was a charter member of the University of Colorado's Natural Area Committee, the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and PLAN Boulder County, all of which were instrumental in establishing Boulder's famous Open Space program. As a result of their work, Boulder was the first city in the United States to pass a sales tax specifically to purchase open space.

Thorne Ecological Institute was the first environmental education group in the country to educate business, government, and professional leaders about the principles of ecology and how these relate to economics, human welfare, and the health of the environment. The Institute helped them solve unusual and challenging environmental problems. The main thrust of this effort was through the Seminars on Environmental Arts and Sciences (SEAS) held in Aspen, Colorado from 1967-1984. One result was that Thorne pioneered the development of the very first Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with American Metals Climax (AMAX) in the late 1960s, before the passage of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) required these. AMAX had asked Thorne to help them with the plans to develop the Henderson Mine near Berthoud Pass with the least amount of environmental impact. Dr. Willard and Dr. Thorne assembled a team of professional ecologists who joined forces with AMAX engineers in what was called "the Experiment in Ecology." During the 1970s and 1980s, the Institute made other recommendations on a wide variety of national environmental concerns, including the impact of human activities on sensitive ecosystems, reclamation of mined lands, and the design of air and water quality monitoring and control systems.

In recent years, Thorne Ecological Institute's primary focus has been "connecting kids to nature," especially in the greater Denver area. The Institute has two campuses, in Boulder at Sombrero Marsh, and in Littleton at the Kassler Center near Waterton Canyon.

Have you been involved in Thorne Ecological Insitute's 54 year-old legacy? If so, please tell us about it!  We would love to hear from you.