Bridging science and spirit focus of CMC Salida event

A Colorado Mountain College professor will focus on how the process of creating sustainable mountain communities helps tap into a sense of wonder and bridge the age-old rift between science and spirit in a Sept. 25 event in Salida.

Based at the CMC Vail Valley at Edwards campus, Dr. Kim Langmaid is program chair for integrated sustainability, a professor in CMC’s Bachelor of Arts in integrated sustainability program and a professor in the college’s Bachelor of Science in ecosystem science and stewardship program.

Langmaid’s presentation is titled “Walking Like Mountains: The Science and Spirit of Sustaining Mountain Communities,” part of the Collegiate Peaks Forum Series, which offers free lectures on topics such as history, philosophy, spirituality and science in the Upper Arkansas Valley. In the spring of 2024, after 21 years, the forum series board of directors decided to transfer leadership of the program to the CMC Salida campus.

Mountain communities’ future

“I will touch on how Aldo Leopold’s concept of ‘the land community’ has been an inspiration and can be helpful as we plan and envision the future of our mountain communities in Colorado and beyond,” Langmaid wrote in an email.

Leopold is considered a visionary conservationist who developed the land ethic and wrote “A Sand County Almanac.”

Langmaid also plans to explain her work creating Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, the IDEAL Destination Stewardship  Program that helps resort communities sustainably develop and the CMC integrated sustainability program.

‘Walking Like Mountains’

The forum series is committed to intellectual enrichment of Upper Arkansas Valley residents and visitors by delivering outstanding speakers who are experts in their fields, presenting relevant and engaging topics for the Upper Arkansas Valley community.

Langmaid is a former mayor of the town of Vail. She serves on the Destination Stewardship Council for the Colorado Tourism Office and helped Vail become the first certified sustainable destination in the U.S. Langmaid also worked for the National Forest Foundation, Teton Science Schools and Prescott College.

“Walking Like Mountains: The Science and Spirit of Sustaining Mountain Communities,” is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25, from 7-9 p.m. at the Salida Scout Hut, 210 E. Sackett Ave. The event is free and open to the public.