Bear Park Permaculture Center

The inspiration and driver for the Bear Park Permaculture Center came directly from one of our amazing CMC Sustainability Studies students. From there, dedicated members of the Sustainability faculty and CMC staff worked diligently to create this beautiful oasis and learning environment. While the operating budget comes from our Sustainability Studies department and the mission and environment of Bear Park is a natural fit with Sustainability Studies, it’s certainly not the only program to benefit from this resource!

The site is used by students in Art, Biology, Engineering, Environmental Science, Culinary and Astronomy. Professional groups, camps, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and other organizations also use the site. We invite you to explore our Sustainability Studies program, our Ecosystem Science & Stewardship program, and to think about how you can be a part of the Bear Park Permaculture Center!

Bear Park Permaculture Center fosters experiential education in sustainable thinking, design, and practice.

At the Bear Park outdoor gardens and four-season growing dome we inspire, teach, and learn. We actively cultivate a community of diverse students, faculty, youth, community members, and organizations who participate in hands-on education and site development to create beautiful, productive spaces for learning and enjoyment. Bear Park serves as an evolving example of education in permaculture design and sustainability practice.

Are there tours available of the garden and dome?
All are welcome to self-tour the outside gardens from sunrise to sunset! Our staff is actively working on signage on site to facilitate plant identification and a self-guided tour in English and Spanish. If you would like to set up a personalized tour, please contact Quincee Cotton at qcotton@coloradomtn.edu.

Can I bring a dog to Bear Park Permaculture Center?
While our staff loves animals, we kindly ask that you do not bring your pet to the site for the protection of the plants.

The dome is so neat! Who makes these domes, how big is it, and how does a dome stay warm enough (and cool enough) to grow food for four seasons in the Steamboat Springs climate?
Our 42-foot dome is a kit made by Growing Spaces which is based in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It was delivered to our site and installed in just one week on the prepared site.

Our dome’s climate is managed by a Wadsworth timer that helps to regulate the low and high temperatures with the help of a climate battery. The climate battery was installed approximately 4’ deep under the dome where the air temperature remains a steady 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

The large ‘tubes’ of the climate battery have an intake and outtake inside of the dome with fans embedded inside.

In the summer, hot air is pulled into the climate battery and mixes with the cool air underground and gets pushed back up into the dome.

In the winter, the cold air inside of the dome gets pulled into the climate battery and gets heated up and pushed into the dome. Supplemental fans and heaters help when there are more extreme temperatures to manage.

How can I help? Can I volunteer?
At this time, Bear Park Permaculture Center is collecting names of interested people who may want to spend time working in the garden and will be setting up this program in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023. Please email Quincee Cotton at qcotton@coloradomtn.edu to get on our list! Don’t have time for gardening? You can always support us with a donation – contributions at any level are most welcome!