From Climate Ache to Action: My Story in "Thirsting for a Future"
If you know me or my work at Wild Rose Education, you know that my commitment to climate and water education is rooted in sheer tenacity and a relentless drive to move the needle. I see this work as critical to building a resilient future where all can thrive. Climate education and climate communication is climate action.
That is why I want to invite you into the story that captures the heart of this movement. Filmmaker Christi Bode’s PBS documentary, Thirsting for a Future (produced by Moxiecran Media), tells the story of the cause I have dedicated my career to advancing. It illuminates the profound complexity, systemic inequities, political hurdles, and funding realities that climate educators, students, and community partners navigate every single day across Colorado.
I had the privilege of consulting with Christi throughout her journey of making this film, helping unpack the complex landscape of water and climate literacy across Colorado’s diverse school districts. Seeing this story brought to life on screen—including the middle school snow science program I developed 15 years ago with the Roaring Fork Conservancy, alongside brave educators and inspiring youth from Basalt, Glenwood Springs, and beyond—is both deeply personal and a testament to what we can achieve through persistent, place-based action.
Why This Story Matters Right Now
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. When we give students scientific knowledge about the world they inhabit and leadership tools and practices, we give them power.
Yet today, that promise is under threat. Across Colorado and the nation, climate education is too often treated as an optional "extra" rather than a core discipline. Teachers report feeling "hamstrung" by local political institutions and school boards that treat climate science as a controversial or partisan "hot-button" issue, leaving educators fearing accusations of indoctrination simply for presenting empirical facts. Meanwhile, funding streams and institutional support are routinely defunded, dissolved, or discouraged.
Our young people aren't waiting for permission to care. They see record-low rivers, breathe wildfire smoke blanketing our valleys, and watch routine evacuation warnings become a normal part of growing up. Denying them comprehensive climate and water literacy leaves them to carry "climate ache" without the tools to build solutions.
What Happened in Carbondale: Proof of Community Action
On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Wild Rose Education, and Roaring Fork Conservancy hosted a free community screening of Thirsting for a Future at the historic Crystal Theatre in Carbondale, generously sponsored by the Aspen Community Foundation.
We didn't just want people to sit in the dark and watch a film—we wanted to test an interactive community conversation model that turns passive viewing into active watershed mapping. Using real-time digital polling via Slido, we captured the exact pulse of our room:
1. The Community Ecosystem
When asked about their connection to the room, attendees revealed a complete local support network sitting shoulder-to-shoulder:
78% Community Members
30% Educators
5% Youth / Students
5% Parents of Youth
2. The Deep Concern & Need for Support
In our live open-ended dialogue, participants voiced clear truths about what our local youth need from adults:
Dedicated Spaces for Youth Agency: Adults called for expanded youth-directed non-profit programming, interdisciplinary capstone projects, and real seats at decision-making tables (like town environmental boards).
Adult Mentorship & Systemic Support: Participants stressed that youth shouldn't have to carry climate action alone—adults must secure funding, establish supportive regulations, and protect public education from partisan battles.
3. Concrete Local Action
When asked how we can dive into actionable climate and watershed stewardship this year, the room erupted with immediate, place-based commitments:
Experiential Field Learning: Taking students and community leaders directly onto local rivers, ranches, and up to Ruedi Reservoir to witness water systems firsthand.
Landscape & Conservation Shifts: Converting non-usable lawns into drought-resistant pollinator habitats, improving irrigation efficiency, and supporting local agricultural producers.
Civic Engagement: Advocating for town water conservation policies, participating in river cleanups, and getting out to vote.
4. Carrying Hope Out the Doors
To close the evening, we asked attendees to share one word they were carrying out of the theater with them. The resulting word cloud provided undeniable proof that when community gathers around honest storytelling, anxiety transforms into agency:
The single largest word on the screen was EDUCATION, surrounded by a constellation of Hope, Motivation, Inspiration, Community, Action, Youth Empowerment, Agency, Collaboration, Justice, Strategy, and Energy.
🎥 Watch the Film & Join the Conversation
Now, I want to bring this story directly to you.
Please take 27 minutes to watch the full documentary Thirsting for a Future on Rocky Mountain PBS. See the incredible resilience of Colorado students, listen to the unvarnished truths spoken by regional educators, and witness what is possible when we invest in place-based learning.
Watch the trailer:
After you watch, please scroll down to the bottom of this page and leave a comment:
What part of the film resonated most with your own experience?
What is ONE word or action you are carrying with you today?
🌟 Bring "Thirsting for a Future" to Your Community!
This movement doesn't stop in Carbondale or Boulder. Throughout this year, Thirsting for a Future is screening in school auditoriums, community centers, university campuses, and theaters across Colorado and the West.
If you are an educator, student leader, non-profit director, or engaged citizen who wants to host a screening and post-film forum in your town, you can make it happen!
👉 Contact filmmaker Christi Bode at Moxiecran Media to request a screening package.
Together, let's stop hiding the map, stand with our youth, and move from climate ache to community action!
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