Virtual CMC Sustainability and Ecosystem Science Conference to take place April 18

In-person events to feature graduating students' research findings and more

Colorado Mountain College will hold its annual, free and virtual Sustainability Studies and Ecosystem Science & Stewardship Conference on April 18. The conference, in addition to providing a forum for graduating students to present their capstone projects, will present "Rematriating the Rockies,” its keynote presentation.

Rematriation is a movement supporting the direct return of lands to Indigenous peoples, the return of buffalo to their homelands and the reclamation and resurgence of Indigenous knowledge, cultural practices and languages.

The conference's keynote presentation will focus on ways to shift environmental conservation toward a more equitable and balanced future. Gemara Gifford, owner of Mending Mountains Collective LLC and a doctoral candidate at Colorado State University, will share her research on the pathways and barriers to rematriation in the southern Rocky Mountain region.

Gifford's doctoral research focuses on Indigenous-led land stewardship efforts on American West public lands, including land returns, co-management, wildlife reintroductions and more.

As a consultant, Gifford works with nonprofits, research institutions and governments to improve relationships and collaboration between Indigenous Peoples and natural resource and conservation groups in the West.

A former wildlife scientist with a background in community-based conservation, nonprofit leadership and rematriation movements in Latin America, Gifford advocates for environmental justice and Indigenous rights.

With roots in the southern Rocky Mountain region, Gifford's family — Chicano labor rights organizers from the San Luis Valley and coal mining camps of southern Colorado — instilled in her a deep love and responsibility for animals and the environment.

The April 18 conference begins at 9 a.m. with opening remarks by CMC President Dr. Matt Gianneschi, followed by research presentations by graduating students from CMC's integrated sustainability and ecosystem science and stewardship, programs at 9:30 a.m. and Gifford's keynote address at 11 a.m.

Conference attendees can select one of six virtual, themed breakout rooms to view short research presentations by CMC sustainability and ecosystem science students from various campuses.

The college’s sustainability bachelor’s degree program began in 2011. CMC began accepting students for the ecosystem science bachelor’s degree program in the fall of 2022.

For more information about the conference visit CMC’s Sustainability Studies and Ecosystem Science Conference. Access the blue registration box at the top of the conference webpage; registration is needed to access the conference.

In-person CMC campus events
Free and open to the public

Thursday, April 17, CMC Vail Valley at Edwards
Climate Speaker Series, 6–7:30 p.m.
Rachel Forbes, professor of social work and director of the Western Colorado Masters of Social Work program at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, will address the impacts of climate change on mental health. The Climate Speaker Series, sponsored by Walking Mountains Science Center and CMC, explores the ecological and societal impacts of climate change, including the creative solutions needed to address humanity’s most pressing problem. Registration required through the conference webpage.

Friday, April 18, CMC Leadville
Faculty Research Presentation, Student Capstone Poster Exhibition & Community Social, 2:30–5 p.m.
The afternoon will feature original research of CMC's ecosystem science & stewardship students and new faculty research.

Friday, April 18, CMC Spring Valley and Glenwood Springs
Interactive Poster Session and Community Garden Party, 1-3 p.m.
The CMC Spring Valley greenhouse (aka the "jungle" next to Quigley Library) will host snacks, music and sustainability studies capstone research posters.

Friday, April 18, CMC Steamboat Springs
Interactive Research Poster Session and Permaculture Garden Party, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
CMC Steamboat Springs’ Bear Park Permaculture Center will feature snacks and live music. Graduating sustainability studies students will present their capstone projects. Weather/snow melt dependent; alternate location is the campus Academic Building lobby.

Tuesday, April 22, CMC Breckenridge and Dillon
Sierra Headwaters’ Earth Day, 4–8 p.m.
Sierra Headwaters will offer an action fair at CMC Breckenridge in the lobby. Speakers from a range of community organizations will give talks in Finkel Auditorium focused on combatting climate change an promoting biodiversity. Features will include interactive education and exhibits including a plastics panel, reports on local river restorations and wilderness areas, a showing of the dark sky film "Defending the Dark" and capstone presentations from graduating CMC students.