The last weekend in September marked the start of the 100th season for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic; according to the organization, it's a time to look back at the past century of performances and also, more importantly, look forward to the plans, opportunities, and music to come.

"This centennial season is not just a history lesson," stated Nathan Newbrough, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, "it's not just a birthday party, we're looking forward to the next 100 years."

That "looking forward" mentality is taking several forms this season; one exciting, new development is the introduction of the Philharmonic's first composer-in-residence, Eunike Tanzil.

The announcement coincides with the Philharmonics milestone 100th season, for which Tanzil has been commissioned to write a new orchestral work. This marks a fitting collaboration between one of classical musics most compelling compositional voices and an orchestra entering its second century.

While the Philharmonic will perform a number of the Tanzil's compositions throughout the season, they are planning a world premiere of her new orchestra work for mid-April, 2027.

Another, significant effort being made by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic is focused around providing educational opportunities for students across the region; these efforts are being led by a division of the Philharmonic, which was got its start about 18 months ago, known as the Center for Future Audiences, "...and that is a collection of projects and programs starting with grade kindergarten and going into high school," said Newbrough, "and even college students can take part."

Programs run the gamut from sending conductors to local classrooms, tailoring concerts to students, hosting clinics and a masterclass series, to even providing professional development opportunities for teachers.

"We're in the schools, we're working with kids, and we're talking about that next generation of citizen," stated Newbrough, "not just listener, not just audience member, that citizen who is going to come next and who is going to be leading this community in 50 years."

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic's season runs through late May, for additional information and to find out more about programming and other opportunities throughout the season, click here.

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Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates is working on a new trail that will connect a neighborhood south of Monument to the nearby, well-used Mount Herman trail network; the work has involved years of planning, reviews, assessments, and this summer the group was able to initiate construction.

Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates is a nonprofit dedicated to building trails, advocating for trail access, and preserving public lands; in 2022, the group began collaboration with the Forest Lake Metro District (FLMD) and the housing development company working to build along Mesa Top Drive in Northern El Paso County to construct a trail dubbed Forest Lakes #7 (FL7) that would serve the neighborhood and surrounding areas.

Following approvals from the groups listed above, Medicine Wheel set about building FL7 in 2023 and opened their initial 1.5-mile-long trail in 2024. The group says that another phase of FL7 trail construction is still underway.

Learn More About the Project in the Player Below

Following the approvals and initial construction work on FL7, Medicine Wheel then determined that due to the trail's (and the community's) proximity to the nearby Mount Herman trail network, a connector trail should be built to join FL7 with the nearby United States Forest Service (USFS) Trail 715, which connects into the Mount Herman trail system.

This proposed 1.5-mile-long trail would not only serve to connect the community to a larger trail network, but help to mitigate the appearance of detrimental 'social trails' that can crop up when people find their own ways across a piece of land.

Medicine Wheel says that social trails can damage local wildlife and cause increased erosion in an area.

The major hurdle is that this new, connector trail would need to cross USFS land; the work to get that done involves a federal, environmental review and planning process for the proposed trail that can often be long and costly.

With the assistance of partners, Medicine Wheel was able to secure a $45,000 state grant in order to hire a natural resource firm to complete the necessary environmental review and assessments.

Medicine Wheel reports that the findings from their assessments indicate that their proposed connector trail would not only generally alleviate erosion and wildlife habitat degradation, but would specifically assist in maintaining the habitat of a local, threatened species known as the Preble's meadow jumping mouse.

Following the completion of the necessary environmental review and assessments, Medicine Wheel reports that USFS approved their trail connector; the nonprofit began marking and clearing the new trail in spring of 2026 and hosted its first volunteer workday to assist in the effort on September 26, National Public Lands Day.

Medicine Wheel hopes, weather permitting, to complete construction on this trail, dubbed the 715 Connector by the USFS, in late Spring of 2027.

Click the following links for additional information regarding Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates or the ongoing efforts being made to construct the 715 Connector.

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The last Saturday of September saw around a dozen volunteers show up in Palmer Lake to clear out debris from North Monument Creek and remove noxious weeds from Centennial Park as part of larger Creek Week efforts taking place across the Fountain Creek Watershed District.

Sponsored by the Fountain Creek Watershed District, Creek Week runs from late September through early October and annually sees hundreds of residents volunteering their time to clean up creeks, parks, trails, and public spaces throughout the watershed district.

The district encompasses 927 square miles and is largely situated in El Paso and Pueblo Counties with a smaller portion located in Teller County. The primary municipalities that fall within the district are listed below:

Palmer Lake Monument Woodland Park Manitou Springs Green Mountain Falls Fountain Pueblo Colorado Springs

According to the Fountain Creek Watershed, in 2025 more than 1,500 volunteers participated across the region and were able to collect approximately 16.5 tons of trash over a period of nine days.

This year, volunteers in Palmer Lake split into two groups, one dedicated their efforts towards learning about and removing noxious weeds found around Centennial Park while the other team removed trash and debris from North Monument Creek.

"I mean, we want people to enjoy the Creek and the Lake," commented Reid Wiecks, chair for the Palmer Lake Parks and Trails Commission, "and if we can make it a better experience for them by making it prettier for them and making the water flow unimpeded for them through the canyon, we feel we're doing our part."

Creek Week started in 2014, for additional information, click here, to sign up to participate, click here.

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