From Steamboat Springs to Guadalajara: International students collaborate to protect nature

Colorado Mountain College students at its Steamboat Springs campus and the Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico crossed borders this year — literally and figuratively — to learn together.

Along with the Universidad de Guadalajara, CMC received a $24,384 grant from the Partners of the Americas Innovation Fund. The money helped expand the Permaculture Learning and Actions for Climate Education and Sustainability — or PLACES — project based in Steamboat Springs.

The grant also strengthened intercultural and bilingual learning opportunities by linking CMC’s Bear Park Permaculture Center at the Steamboat Springs campus with the University Center of Economic and Administrative Sciences at the Universidad de Guadalajara.

Students and faculty from both countries visited each other's campuses to share expertise in permaculture design, climate resilience and sustainable community practices. A CMC delegation traveled to Guadalajara for a week in March. Universidad de Guadalajara sent a similar group to visit CMC campuses in Steamboat Springs and Glenwood Springs in June.

Students and instructors from both colleges came away with positive impressions, according to written comments.

“I’ve come to realize, in a deeper sense, how permaculture focuses on working with nature, rather than against it, to build resilient systems that can thrive without depleting resources,” wrote CMC student Yubelli Salas Merino. “This makes it an effective and sustainable approach to addressing climate change issues.”

“I think these lessons are important not only for me, but for anyone, because they help us to build a fairer world, more conscious and more connected with nature and with others,” stated Uriel Samir González Pérez, an Universidad de Guadalajara student.

CMC sustainability professor Dr. Tina Evans appreciated the cultural interchange.

“What was so wonderful, enlightening and, in some ways, surprising to me about the trip to Guadalajara and the online teaching and planning sessions was just how joyful the experience has been, of collaborating with my Mexican colleagues and the students from both countries,” she wrote.

Her colleague at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Postgraduate Programs Coordinator Harold Dutton, noted the program started a journey.

“At CUCEA, it has become a steppingstone regarding climate change through permaculture,” he wrote.

The Innovation Fund is supported by the US Department of State, Partners of the Americas and private-sector donors to encourage collaboration between higher education institutions in the US, Latin America and Canada.

For CMC, this ongoing international program highlights the college’s growing leadership in sustainability education and provides students with experiences that extend well beyond the classroom.