WiLD CiTY
WiLD CiTY Spring 2026 Workshop Series
WiLD CiTY is an immersive workshop series centered on connecting our community with the beautiful and often rare nature that exists throughout Los Angeles and beyond.
During our Spring 2026 series, the Santa Monica Mountains are calling you to meet our local birds, connect to landscapes through embodied movement, and unravel the complicated relationship humans have with captive animals.
Following each workshop there will be an optional opportunity to further engage with workshop leaders at a nearby restaurant, brewery or tasting room.
While we love to foster young explorers, these workshops are designed for ages 13 and up. If you have children who would like to get outdoors with us, check out education programs here or our upcoming community volunteer events here.
Check out full descriptions for each upcoming workshop below and reserve your spot!
Book Your Adventure Today!
All tickets are on a “pay-what-you-can” scale with a minimum suggested donation of $10, however if you’d like to help us cover our costs, tickets are valued at $50 per workshop.
Workshop I: Birds of the Santa Monicas
Led By: Alexander deBarros, Expert Birder & RCD Educator [runs IG @hollywood_birder]
Date: April 18th | 10:00-12:00pm
Location: Cold Creek Canyon Preserve
Description:
- Bustling with chaparral and live oak woodlands, the Santa Monica Mountains offers a stunning backdrop to learn more about our feathered friends. Join us for a short hike around as we learn more about this unique coastal, mountainous ecosystem and the avian species that flutter here within!
Post workshop hang out: TBA
Workshop II: Movement in the Mountains
Led By: Danielle Marie Roe, Mariah Chandler & Shaun Curtin – Dance Professionals of Calabasas Academy of Dance
Date: May 2nd | 10:00-12:00pm
Location: Fryman Canyon
Description:
- Embody the mountains through dance – no experience necessary! Discover the benefits of immersing yourself in the natural world through stretch, balance, and movement at this iconic hiking spot along historic Mulholland Drive.
Post workshop hang out: TBA
Workshop III: Captive LA – the evolving relationship between zoo bound animals & humans
Led By: Courtney Lamb, RCD Educator & UC Riverside PhD candidate
Date: May 16th | 10:00-12:00pm
Location: Old LA Zoo in Griffith Park
Description:
- Embark on a hike through the Old Los Angeles Zoo nestled within Griffith Park – a perfect space to highlight the evolving ways Angelenos identify with exotic, captive and native animals within Griffith Park and surrounding natural areas. Since the explosive rise of metropolitan LA in the early 20th century, there have been various iterations of the built environment designed to display and manage animals. Identify links between historical events and current initiatives like the Topanga Lagoon restoration, the Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, and the upcoming redesign at the LA Zoo.
Post workshop hang out: TBA
Purchase Access to the Entire Series
Interested in our entire Spring Series? Easily purchase access to all three workshops at the link below!
About the Environmental & Creative Professionals Leading WiLD CiTY:
Alexander deBarros
Alexander has been birding for 17 years and leads bird walks for the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society at Sepulveda Basin. He’s been an educator with the RCD since the pandemic, and loves connecting Angelenos to local wildlife.
Danielle Marie Roe
Danielle Marie Roe, Owner & Artistic Director of Calabasas Academy of Dance, started dancing at the age of five and graduated from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA with a BA in dance, concentrating in jazz and ballet. She’s a certifed acro instructor with a professional performance background that includes America’s Got Talent, Shaqtacular at Universal Studios, Debbie Allen and Las Vegas stages, as well as performing in TV commercials and shows. She currently appears as a dancer in Magic Redefined with illusionist John Gabriel. Danielle has been a dedicated teacher for over 15 years. She promotes the importance of dance on both the physical and emotional level for every student. Her goal is to help her students realize their full potential.
Shaun Curtin
Shaun Curtin, Co-Owner & Artistic Director of Calabasas Academy of Dance, began dancing at the age of seven. He trained at The LaPierre School of Dance in Reading, Massachusetts and studied at The Boston Ballet and The Joffrey Ballet on full scholarship. He has danced professionally for over 25 years as a member elite ballet troupes and theaters as well as with Disneyland, Disney World and Tokyo Disney Sea. He was a featured dancer on Celebrity Cruise Line and later starred in A Country Christmas in Nashville, TN. Shaun also toured internationally through China, Spain, France and Hong Kong with the show LUMA, a theatrical production bringing light from the dark through dance and the use of props. Shaun’s teaching experience spans over 17 years and he is passionate about continuing to instill proper technique and appreciation of this creative art form in dancers of all ages.
Mariah Chandler
Mariah Chandler has been a valued member of the Calabasas Academy of Dance Faculty since 2016. She brings artistry, professionalism, and passion into the studio, inspiring dancers to train harder, grow stronger, and believe in themselves. With performance credits including Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, and international tours with the Dana Foglia Dance Company, Mariah truly leads by example.
Courtney Lamb
Courtney Lamb is a Phd student in the History Dept at UC Riverside, an educator with the RCD, and a longtime actor who once filmed a commercial underwater. She moved out to LA from Boston 25 years ago and loves this city for what Reyner Banham called its cultural ecologies and its “sense of possibilities still ahead.”
Past Series
- City of Stars with Astronomer & Activist Cassondra Holmes
- Hiku with Spoken Word Poet & Preformer Soul Stuf
- Not-So-Creepy Crawlers Scorpion Hike with biologists from SAMO Fund
- Sacred Plant Relationships with Native Culture Bearer, Tina Orduno Calderon
- Cyanotype Printing with Photographer & Naturalist, Stever Meier
- Blue Butterfly Lab with Dr. Jana Johnson of the Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College
- Tending Urban Greenspaces with Carolyn Day at Growing Hope Gardens
- WiLD & Batty with local bat expert Joey Curti
- Pictures & Places at the iconic Bronson Caves with Filmmaker Pavli Serenetsky
- A Hike Through History at Santa Susana Pass with Conservation Leaders Wendi Gladstone & Teena Tanaka
- Native Plant Landscaping at Theodore Payne Foundation with On-Staff Native Plant Specialist
- Paper Making & Plant Dyeing at Will Rogers State Historic Park with Artists/Naturalists Ashley Meier and Amy Stewart
- Marine Science at Malibu Lagoon with Marine Biologist Jelly Kahler
- Oak Woodland Stewardship in Topanga with Oak Expert Rosi Dagit
- Creative Writing at Griffith Park with Creative Nonfiction Writer Dr. Liz Stephens
- Native Bird Walk at Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve with Local Bird Expert Dr. Dan Cooper
- Invasive Crayfish Removal in Topanga Creek with RCD Stream Team
- Watercolor in Nature at Debs Park with artist & botanist Margaret Gallagher
- Secret Wonders of Nicholas Flat with local restorationist John Luker
- A Walk on the WiLD Side (of the LA River) with local bird expert Dr. Dan Cooper
- Canyon Songs – A Practice in Reciprocity with artist Stacy Villalobos
- Beyond Landscaping – Reconnecting with Native Plants with plant enthusiast Antonio Sanchez
