Wild Rose Education’s Youth Water Leadership Program™ mission is to create authentic student-centered learning experiences that increase watershed literacy through civic action. During 2018, the program reached 646 student contacts ages sixth grade-college in three program areas during 94 hours of experiential learning.

• 5 Lens on Climate Change Filmmaker Teams
• 4 films: Our Lives Our River, Out of Balance, Streamflow on the Crystal, and Grass Skis selected for 2019 Colorado Environmental Film Festival
• 16 Field Trips and Classroom Visits
• 1 Youth Water Summit

Exciting growth occurred during 2018, the second year of this signature YWLP program. Hosting the CIRES Lens on Climate Change film making program, creating branding, convening the Summit Leader Team, mentoring senior capstone students, hosting a day long youth water summit, and employing a program intern significantly increased the program’s capacity and impact. In addition to the founding sponsor, Pitkin County Healthy Rivers, 10 additional generous financial sponsors made this expanded programming possible. Finally, utilizing the collaborative support of 20 partner organizations made this year’s YWLP more effective, meaningful, and fun.

Read the new Youth River Voices blog where water, river, and climate change youth leaders give voice to the most important issues of today

Watch the student presentations below

The Third Street Center 501(c)3 is the fiscal agent for the Youth Water Leadership Program.

The student made films from the Lens on Climate Change Program are now available to be viewed and shared. 

Thanks again to CIRES, University of Colorado Office of Outreach and Engagement, and the Colorado Film School for bringing their program on the road to Carbondale reaching 20 local middle and high school students during the 6 day free workshop at the Third Street Center. 

The films will be screened during the 2018 Healthy Rivers Youth Water Summit and also submitted to the Colorado Environmental Film Festival. 

Special thanks to all who made the Lens on Climate Change program possible in Carbondale, Colorado including: Community Office for Resource Efficiency, Third Street Center, CLEER, Solar Rollers, and Two Rivers Unitarian Universalists.

Career Panel 

• Ellie Barber, Aspen Global Change Institute
• Morgan Hill, Garfield County Public Health
• Ali O’Neil, Evergreen Zero Waste
• Haley Thompson, filmmaker
• Sarah Uhl, artist, joy evangelist

Community Experts

• Jake DeWolf, Colorado Division of Water Resources
• Matt Hamilton, Aspen Skiing Company
• Kevin Horch, Sunlight Ski and Bike Shop
• Dave Kanzer, Colorado River District
• Brook Levan, Sustainable Settings
• Liz Mauro, Pitkin County Landfill
• Heather Tattersall-Lewin, Roaring Fork Conservancy
• Aaron Taylor, Way of Compassion Bike Project

A moderated thoughtful public process where citizens will learn from one another, weighing various approaches, and find courses of action consistent with what the community and individuals hold valuable.  During a deliberative forum, people:

• Look at different ways of thinking about a problem
• Exchange views with others
• Weigh benefit and trade-offs of different options
• Listen and reconsider in a safe environment

Wild Rose Education coordinated this 2nd annual bioblitz in collaboration with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program and the landowner John Powers.

Environmental Issues Forums (EIF) are a North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) initiative designed to promote meaningful, productive deliberation about difficult issues that affect the environment and communities.
Environmental Issues Forums in the Classroom - In April 2016, the White House announced the inclusion of NAAEE and Kettering Foundation's Environmental Issues Forums (EIF) in the President's Climate Education and Literacy Initiative. NAAEE is committed to supporting teachers’ use of the Climate Choices issue guide in their classrooms. During the summer of 2016, Sarah Johnson was part of a team who created and drafted the new middle school level teacher's guide. The guide provides an introduction to the EIF issue guide Climate Choices: How should we meet the challenges of a warming planet? Using Climate Choices offers an opportunity for teachers and students to use a deliberative process to consider climate change choices. This resource provides background information on deliberation, how to use Climate Choices in the classroom, and material to help teachers moderate a forum with students. Ito also includes resources on teaching about climate change. Read more about EIF and NAAEE.