Erasing the Map: Why the Colorado Youth Climate Program is Essential in a Changing World

At the founding of our nation, public education was established with a singular, radical purpose: to cultivate an educated citizenry capable of active participation in our democracy. Today, we are breaking that fundamental promise.

As a climate educator featured in the documentary Thirsting for a Future, I see every day that when we give students knowledge, we give them power. Yet right now, we are witnessing a systematic disassembly of the very tools they need to exercise that power. A quiet, coordinated campaign is underway to erase, cancel, and hide critical scientific data, making it virtually impossible for a curious young person to find the truth about the world they are inheriting.

Consider what a 16-year-old student faces today when trying to understand their environment. If they search for the federal government's primary climate updates, they will discover that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has canceled the foundational Arctic Report Card (The Hill). If they look for the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) on government domains, they will find it missing, rescued only by a non-profit, philanthropically-supported effort that now hosts this critical data at www.climate.us. If they navigate to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, they will find that references to the human causes of climate change have been quietly scrubbed (Yale 360 Environment). How can we expect a 16-year-old to receive a quality science education when the most trusted scientific benchmarks are being systematically erased?

This is not merely an administrative shift; it is a direct threat to the bedrock of our public education system and our democracy. Denying students access to empirical reality is a form of structural disenfranchisement. When we hide the data, we block their capacity to think critically, propose solutions, and advocate for their own communities.

In Colorado, our youth do not need a website to tell them the climate is shifting. They see it when they walk past historically low rivers, breathe the wildfire smoke blanketing our valleys, and watch routine evacuation notices become a normal part of growing up. The crisis is on our front porch. Yet, because climate change is not a mandatory, fully integrated part of public education, students are routinely denied a comprehensive science curriculum. Teachers across Colorado report feeling "hamstrung" by local political institutions and local school boards that treat climate science as a controversial, partisan "hot-button" issue, fearing accusations of indoctrination simply for presenting the facts.

The film Thirsting for a Future peels back these layers to show that while the classroom has become a political battlefield, our students are not waiting for permission to care. Across Colorado, they are getting their hands dirty and their feet wet—literally. They are conducting groundbreaking local research, investigating solutions like phytoremediation to clean up historic mine drainage, and advocating for cleaner air in their school drop-off lanes.

But passion alone is not enough. To sustain their engagement and navigate this messy, mapless landscape, our youth need more than isolated activities; they need a robust, year-round "human infrastructure" that stands by them.

This is precisely why the Colorado Youth Climate Program (CYCP)—a collaborative production of Wild Rose Education and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies—is absolutely essential. Rather than leaving youth to drown in "doom and despair," the CYCP uses the Climate Wayfinding framework to transform climate ache into regenerative, civically engaged agency. Through its three-phase annual cycle—the Youth Climate Leader Academy, the two-day Youth Climate Summit, and the intensive Climate Action Accelerator mentorship cohort—the program teaches students "how to see" local impacts and master "Solutions Artistry". They learn to draft and implement SMARTIE Climate Action Plans (CAPs) that solve real-world community problems, such as school composting or replacing styrofoam lunchroom utensils.

Right now, we have a direct pathway for local youth to step into this powerful network. The Fall 2026 Youth Climate Leader Team is currently recruiting 8th-to-10th-grade youth from Colorado to serve as the design team and co-facilitators for our upcoming program. These student leaders will co-design and co-host the Colorado Youth Climate Summit on November 13-14, 2026. Crucially, participating in this leadership team fulfills the "experiential project" requirement for the Colorado Seal of Climate Literacy graduation endorsement—a high school diploma credential that acknowledges students who demonstrate a deep understanding of climate principles.

If we are to preserve both our democracy and our planet, we must invest heavily in place-based learning and support these independent community networks stepping up to fill federal and local resource gaps.

I invite you to witness this work first-hand and join the movement. On Wednesday, September 23, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, we are hosting a free community screening of Thirsting for a Future at the historic Crystal Theatre in Carbondale. Supported by the Aspen Community Foundation, this interactive event is more than a movie. Filmmaker Christi Bode from MoxieCran Media, the Roaring Fork Conservancy, and I will host an interactive post-film forum to turn climate ache into local action and connect you directly with the Colorado Youth Climate Program.

Knowledge is power. Let’s stop hiding the map, stand with our youth, and move from climate ache to community action, together.

Apply for the Fall 2026 Youth Climate Leader Team today, or reserve your seat for the September 23 screening here.