Empowering Youth for Climate Action
The Colorado Youth Climate Program (CYCP) is an interactive, youth-driven initiative designed to empower high school students—specifically from rural Western Colorado—to become climate action leaders and advocates. Directed by Wild Rose Education in collaboration with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), the CYCP serves as a year-round platform for participants to explore climate science and implement evidence-based solutions.
For the 2026 cycle, the program has shifted its focus to cultivating local leadership through a dedicated Youth Leader Academy and a flagship Roaring Fork Valley Youth Climate Summit in November. A central component of this work is the development of unique Climate Action Plans (CAPs), which serve as incubators for youth-led community projects and satisfy the experiential requirements for senior capstones and the Colorado Seal of Climate Literacy graduation endorsement.
Upcoming Events
📽️ Community Film Screening: Thirsting for a Future
September 23, 2026 | Carbondale, CO
Join us for an evening of film and dialogue. We are hosting a special screening of Thirsting for a Future to spark community-wide conversation on the intersection of water security, climate science, and education in Colorado. This event serves as the official kickoff for our 2026 fall leadership cycle, bridging the gap between scientific understanding and teaching Colorado's youth.
🏔️ Roaring Fork Valley Youth Climate Summit
November 2026 | Local Convening Building on the success of our statewide 2025 event, we are returning to our roots with a local, 1- to 2-day summit. This intensive "launchpad" will empower participants to draft Climate Action Plans (CAPs) focused on local solutions—ranging from regenerative agriculture to waste circularity—that can be implemented directly in our valley schools and towns.
Get Involved
Youth, young adults, educators, climate professionals, volunteers, artists, activists, policy makers, media, and community leaders are all invited to get involved.
Youth, young adults, educators, climate professionals, volunteers, artists, activists, policy makers, media, and community leaders are all invited to get involved.
Sign up for email updates and invitation to participate
Support the next Summit during the 2026-2027 school year
Join the Fall 2026 Youth Leader Academy
We are recruiting dedicated 8th-10th grade youth from the Roaring Fork Valley to serve as the design team and co-facilitators for upcoming program.
Why Join?
-
Master "How to See": Hone your skills as an acute observer of local climate impacts.
-
Advanced Facilitation Training: Learn professional facilitation techniques and public speaking.
-
Lead the Summit: Academy members will be the primary hosts and co-facilitators of the November Summit.
-
Earn Your Seal: Participation in the Academy can fulfill the "experiential project" requirement for the Colorado Seal of Climate Literacy.
Commitment: Academy members will meet 2-3 times in late September-October to co-design the summit program and receive expert coaching from mentors.
Application for the Fall 2026 Academy coming soon.
Our Mission and Values
The mission of the Colorado Youth Climate Summit is to create engaging opportunities for rural Colorado youth to become empowered as climate action leaders and advocates statewide.
The CYCS operates under core values that ensure a meaningful and impactful experience:
-
Place-based: The Summit connects climate change to students' lives by focusing on local issues, solutions, and community partners, recognizing that climate change affects each community differently.
-
Action-oriented: Participants are encouraged to move beyond awareness by being exposed to tools for issue investigation and pathways to voice their suggestions and solutions.
-
Solutions-focused: The Summit emphasizes effective and accessible local solutions while still aiming for ambitious goals.
-
Youth-driven: Students are deeply involved in every aspect of the program, including summit design, planning, and implementation.
-
Hopeful: The CYCS fosters a sense of collective effort, energizing participants by showing them they are part of a larger community acting together on climate change solutions.
-
Equitable: The Summit ensures students from all backgrounds receive the support they need to participate and learn from speakers with diverse perspectives, acknowledging that climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable communities.
May 2025 Inaugural Summit
Climate Action Planning
The Summit empowers young people to become leaders in climate action within their own communities. A core component of this empowerment is our Climate Action Planning (CAP) process, which all youth participants will engage in during the Summit.
Utilizing the Youth Climate Summit Network's CAP framework, we'll guide participants through an environmental action civics process. This involves:
-
Identifying community needs: Pinpointing environmental challenges specific to their hometowns.
-
Recognizing realistic impact opportunities: Discovering practical ways they can make a difference.
-
Learning project management practices: Developing the skills to plan, execute, and sustain their projects back home.
This CAP process is designed to ignite participants' capacity to complete the "experiential learning project" requirement for the Seal of Climate Literacy. Completing an experiential learning project that demonstrates an understanding of climate change is one of the three key requirements for earning the Seal of Climate Literacy. These well-developed project plans can also serve as a strong foundation for other prestigious recognitions, such as the Girl Scout Gold Award, Eagle Scout Award, and Senior Capstone projects.
.png)
CO Youth Climate Summit Logistics
November 13-14, 2026 - TBC
in Aspen or Carbondale - TBA
10:00am Friday through 3:00pm Saturday
We combine informative plenary sessions and workshops in a fun atmosphere for a powerful 2-day educational experience. At the Summit, students will develop a climate action plan that they can use to implement climate solutions in their own community. Young people will leave ready to accelerate change in their lives, schools and communities and work toward earning the Seal of Climate Literacy
In 2026, the Summit is limited to the Youth Leader Academy participants from the Roaring Fork Valley due to limited funding.
Eating and Sleeping
All meals and snacks will be provided for all participants.
Plant-rich diet will be provided Friday lunch, dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch will be provided for all participants.
Transit and Active Transport Challenge
Every one participating, presenting, volunteering, and otherwise contributing is encouraged to utilize transit and active transportation to and from the Summit.
Here’s How:
-
carpool with at least 4 people in your vehicle
-
if coming from across the state, ride Bustang bus to Glenwood Springs
-
ride RFTA bus from Glenwood Springs, or Aspen to Carbondale
-
use free Downtowner van from RFTA bus stop to Third Street Center; and to RF High School
-
ride free We-Cycle bike from bus stop to Third Street Center; and to RF High School
-
if local, ride a bike or walk to Third Street Center
Pro Tip
Download the smartphone apps for these services and create an account before you leave home.
Summit Goals
-
Empower Youth Leadership & Agency: Engage youth as co-designers and advisors in climate literacy programming, cultivating their leadership, advocacy, collaborative skills, and fostering a strong sense of agency.
-
Provide High-Quality Climate Education: Deliver experiential, place-based, and solutions-focused climate action and justice education aligned with Colorado Climate Goals and Actions, 2024 Climate Literacy Principles, and secondary curricula.
-
Facilitate Climate Action Planning: Guide participants through a CAP process to develop tangible, community-based projects, directly supporting the experiential learning requirement for the Seal of Climate Literacy and other recognitions.
-
Forge Career Pathways: Connect youth with green career opportunities and industry professionals, preparing them for high-demand jobs and future roles as climate advocates.
-
Build a Statewide Network: Foster authentic relationships among diverse youth, especially rural students, creating a supportive statewide community for ongoing collaboration.
-
Promote Stakeholder Engagement: Create opportunities for youth to engage directly with policymakers, experts, and community leaders to share their experiences and CAPs.
-
Ensure Sustained Impact: Establish an advisory group of youth, young adults, and adults to influence climate literacy initiatives and provide ongoing mentorship for long-term project implementation.
Co-Led by Youth Climate Summit Leaders
The Youth Summit Leader Team is a small group of youth and young adults age 16+ and adult advisers.
This energetic dedicated team meet together a few months before the Summit to build community and give input on the development of the Climate Summit. The group continues to meet virtually every 2 weeks to enhance their leadership abilities, participate in climate action mini- workshops led by national and regional experts, and assist in planning to co-facilitate the Youth Climate Summit.
This commitment to youth leadership, ensuring young individuals play a significant role
in decision-making processes and shaping program content is critical to the impact of
the program.
This event is modeled after the Youth Climate Summit started by The Wild Center, a science museum in upstate New York. The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program works globally to convene and empower young people to implement climate action plans in their schools and communities through Youth Climate Summits. Our event will join a network of over 60 sites around the world that have hosted a Youth Climate Summit inspired by this model. We are part of a powerful network of young people around the world (view map) who are learning about climate change and implementing climate action plans.