Colorado Mountain College to host virtual sustainability conference

Amid urgent sustainability challenges, Colorado Mountain College proves that student research could offer a hopeful pathway to the future.

Colorado Mountain College’s free annual Sustainability & Ecosystem Science Conference, which highlights work by students in its sustainability and ecosystem science programs, will be held virtually from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, April 24. The student projects have direct impacts on the health, resilience and future of Colorado’s mountain communities, according to a news release.

The virtual conference will also feature a keynote address on “Restoration and Resilience in Climate Solutions” by Len Necefer, an environmental storyteller, filmmaker and engineer.  Necefer is also the founder of NativesOutdoors, an Indigenous-led media company.

Part of his presentation will focus on his experiences in the Colorado River basin and the sediment crisis in the lower San Juan River — and what happens when a reservoir disappears and a river begins to reclaim itself.

The conference will also be followed by several live community events at local Colorado Mountain College campuses that afternoon. At the Breckenridge campus, a special Earth Day Fair will take place two days before the conference on April 22.
The event is free with registration. Schedule and full details available at ColoradoMtn.edu/sustainability-conference/. For more information on the conference, contact Valerie LeMaster at 970-947-8432 or vjlemaster@coloradomtn.edu.