Portfolio of Projects | Wild Rose Education

1. Colorado Youth Climate Program & CIM-P Mentorship Program

• Focus: Civic Leadership, Policy Alignment, & Rural Youth Empowerment

• Overview: We design and facilitate the annual, youth-led Colorado Youth Climate Summit, uniting high school students from diverse geographies across Colorado. Using our 10-step Climate Action Planning (CAP) methodology, participants treat local communities as "Living Textbooks" by analyzing municipal sustainability plans to design feasible, SMARTIE-focused solutions. To bridge the gap between inspiration and long-term action, we operate the CAP Implementation Mentor Program (CIM-P)—a 9-month virtual mentorship cohort that supports rural students in completing local climate solutions and earning the Colorado Seal for Climate Literacy (SCL) graduation endorsement.

• Key Impact: Post-Summit evaluations confirm that 85% of youth feel more confident and 78% feel more equipped to engage with local government or community leaders to drive systemic change.

• Learn More: Explore the Colorado Youth Climate Program
   

2. Traditional Ecological Knowledge + Data = Action (TEKDA)

• Focus: Indigenous Knowledge Integration, Systems Thinking, & Marine STEM

• Overview: Wild Rose Education served as the lead instructional and curriculum designer for the TEKDA Project in the remote Chugach School District, Alaska. Funded by the US Office of Naval Research, this three-year project equiped Alaska Native and Alutiiq students with a systemic understanding of their local marine environments (Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet). The curriculum honored and embeded Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from Elders alongside Western scientific data, preparing students to engage in constructive civic discourse and build long-term community resilience.

• Learn More: Traditional Ecological Knowledge + Data = Action Initiative
   

3. Youth Water Leadership Program & Healthy Rivers Summit

• Focus: Watershed Civics, Peer Mentorship, & Collaborative Resource Management

• Overview: We founded and directed this multi-year initiative, coordinating annual Healthy Rivers Youth Water Summits for rural secondary students. The program coached youth leader teams to co-host summits, facilitating dialogue between students, water resource managers, and local officials. In response to regional needs, we successfully transitioned all components to virtual formats in 2020, expanding our reach to the Upper Colorado River Basin and beyond.

• Key Impact: Honored with the 2020 Innovative Environmental Education Program Award by the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE). Secured over $70,000 in annual funding through local sponsorships, grants, and public partnerships.

• Learn More: Youth Water Leadership Program Archive
   

4. Arctic STEM Outreach & "Float Your Boat" Program

• Focus: Global Oceanography Science Communication & Citizen Observation Outreach Programs

• Overview: In partnership with the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) and the University of Washington, we managed the global "Float Your Boat" Arctic outreach program. We managed database tracking systems, application processes, and digital storytelling to bridge the gap between polar scientists in remote seas and classrooms across North America and Europe. Drawing on our direct experiences deploying buoys and conducting sea-ice observation protocols as PolarTREC Educators in Utqiagvik, Alaska, we translated complex oceanography into accessible community learning.

• Learn More: Float Your Boat Program Portal | View PolarTREC Field Expedition Logs | Arctic Community Outreach Initiatives
   

Project Directory

We specialize in co-navigating complex projects with academic institutions, non-profits, school districts, and federal partners. Below is a curated directory of our contracted programs.
 

Category A: Climate Action & Literacy Educator PD

• NASA Earth to Sky Regional Lead: Serving as Team Lead and Coordinator for NASA's Climate Resilient Colorado Regional Team, facilitating localized climate communication training.
  NASA Earth to Sky Climate Resilient Colorado
   

• Canadian Forests and Climate Change High School Curriculum: Contracted project manager and subject-matter expert for Project Learning Tree Canada and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, designing national climate curriculum tools.
  PLT Canada Climate Change & Forests Curriculum
   

• SparkZero EV Outreach: Developed and facilitates this scalable clean-transportation program, replacing passive brochures with hands-on discovery. Designed the turnkey SparkZero kit and training to guide utilities, state energy offices, and NGOs through 3–5 minute "flash-engagements" like The Fuel Gap (hidden gas tax), Zap vs. Gas (motor comparison), and Range Reality (mapping). These tools translate complex EV science and regional physics—including regenerative "Gravity Fuel" downhill energy harvesting and high-altitude motor efficiency—into local civic action.
  SparkZero Program Page
   

• Climate Wayfinding Program Facilitator: Facilitates this transformative climate navigation program in partnership with The All We Can Save project, guiding professional cohorts through the strategic and emotional transition from climate anxiety to collective courage and purposeful action.
  Climate Wayfinding Program Page
   

• Beyond the Ice Course: Creator and instructor of this graduate-level course focusing on Arctic ecosystems, physical oceanography, and global climate feedback loops.
  Beyond the Ice Program Page
   

• Climate Literacy eeCourse Designer: Instructional designer and moderator for the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) Climate Literacy professional development course.
  CAEE Climate Literacy Course Details
   

• Rural Communities CCE Working Group: Member of the national working group for Climate Change Education in Rural Communities in partnership with ACCELS and the CLEAN Network.
  CLEAN Network & ACCELS Community Space
   

• Summer Institute for Climate Change Education: Southwest Regional Cohort leader in partnership with Minnesota-based Climate Generation.
  Teach Climate Colorado
   

Category B: Watersheds, Public Lands & Equity

• Water Equity Storytelling Workshop: Co-designed and facilitated this place-based storytelling workshop for educators in partnership with the University of Northern Colorado.
  Water Equity Storytelling Project
   

• Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Professional Learning Modules: Contracted instructional designer for the River Management Society's River Training Center, translating federal river protection policy into interactive modules, workshops, and instructor-training guides for public land and water managers.
  River Management Society training portal
   

• Public Lands of the USA Graduate Course: Created and instructs a specialized graduate-level course exploring the history, climate change impacts, and equitable futures of American public lands.
  Public Lands Course and Materials
   

• Co-Management of Public Lands: Instructional designer for the specialized Bears Ears co-management course in partnership with the Western Colorado University Center for Public Lands.
  WCU Center for Public Lands Projects
   

• Integrated River Curriculum: Curriculum advisor and program designer for a year-long, school-wide watershed curriculum at Marble Charter School.
  View Integrated River Curriculum Outline
   

• Citizen Science & NASA GLOBE: Certified leader and trainer for the NASA GLOBE Observer community science platform, connecting students with global satellite verification datasets.
  GLOBE Observer & Community Science Projects
   

• Water Literacy Framework Co-Creation: Contributed to the co-creation of a national water literacy framework in collaboration with the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) and the University of Denver, presenting the framework at the Earth Educators' Rendezvous.
  Water Literacy Framework
   

• Mountain Resilience Semester: Program Director and designer for a 13-week, experiential intensive undergraduate field semester across the mountains of Colorado, which included co-designing six specialized courses.
  WCU Mountain Resilience Semester
   

• Spring Valley & Rifle Ranch Bioblitzes: Designed, coordinated, and facilitated citizen science bioblitzes on 500+ acre educational campus properties in western Colorado in collaboration with iNaturalist and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program.
  View 2016 Spring Valley Bioblitz Data | 2017 Spring Valley Bioblitz Data | 2017 Rifle Ranch Bioblitz Data
   

Category C: Global Networks & Capacity Building

• WAGGGS Juliette Low Seminar Mentor: Mentoring young women from the Africa, Arab, and Asia Pacific regions as they designed and executed their 100 Girls civic impact projects.
  Juliette Low Seminar Leadership Page
   

• Girl-Led Action for Climate Change: Advisory and program design support for climate programs in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.
  WAGGGS & FAO Girl-Led Climate Action
   

• NAAEE Spirituality & Environmental Education Moderator: Co-lead and community moderator for the Spirituality eePro Group, exploring the intersections of ecological stewardship, contemplative identity, and education.
  NAAEE eePro Groups
   

• Guidelines for Excellence Trainer: Certified trainer and network moderator for the North American Association for Environmental Education's (NAAEE) Guidelines for Excellence in Educating for Climate Action and Justice.
  NAAEE Climate Action and Justice Guidelines
   

• US-Russia Social Expertise Exchange: Fellowship host in partnership with the Eurasia Foundation, advancing international cooperative dialogue.
  Social Exchange Fellowship
   

• UNFCCC COP26 Observer Delegate: Served as an official delegate observer at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, as a member of the US Action for Climate Empowerment Coalition.
  COP26 Action & Insights Blog
   

Category D: Evaluative Praxis & CREE

• The WRE Transformative Praxis Lab: Delivers specialized environmental education evaluation services using Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation (CREE) frameworks. We partner with organizations to design inclusive, mixed-method evaluation tools that move beyond traditional surveys to systematically measure and document shifts in environmental knowledge, self-and-collective efficacy, and long-term environmental stewardship behaviors.
  WRE Transformative Praxis Lab Services
   

Scholarly Credentials & Publications

We believe in grounding our programs in rigorous, peer-reviewed educational research and critical inquiry.
 

• Academic Submission (2026):
  Bywater-Reyes, S., Romulo, C., Creekmore III, A., Johnson, S., and Vincent, S. (Submitted Jan. 5, 2026). Increasing High School Students’ STEM Interest Through a Place-Based Anthropology, Geoscience, and Environmental Sustainability (AGES) Field Experience. Journal of Geoscience Education (Taylor & Francis).
   

• Published Essay (2019):
  Johnson, S. R. (2019, October). Transforming Ourselves Will Transform Our Future Classrooms. Essay published for the SERC InTeGrate Earth Education for Sustainable Societies Workshop, Carleton College.
  Read the Published Essay Online
   

• Journal Publication (2016):
  Johnson, S. R. (2016, Fall). In the Field: Teachers Learning From Scientists. Clearing Magazine, 34-38.
  Read "In the Field" Article Online
   

• Deliberative Forum Guides & Authorship:
  Designed, authored, and facilitated structured public discussion frameworks on complex environmental disputes in collaboration with the National Environmental Issues Forums and the Kettering Foundation:

  • Let’s Talk Rivers Deliberative Forum Guide (2019)
    Access Deliberative Forum Resources

  • Water Availability in Colorado Deliberative Forum Guide (2016)
    Access Colorado Water Forum Guide

  • Climate Choices Deliberative Forum
    Access Climate Choices Forum Resources
     

Let's Co-Navigate Your Next Project

Are you a school district, university, non-profit, or public agency looking to design transformative learning experiences, evaluate environmental programs through an equity lens, or train leaders? We specialize in turning complex environmental and climate issues into structured, participant-centered action.

• Download Credentials: Sarah R. Johnson's Professional CV/Resume

• Request a Proposal: Contact Wild Rose Education

 

 

Wild Rose Education is a lean, nimble, Colorado Public Benefit Corporation established in 2015. Carbondale, Colorado USA.