May 10th, 2023 | Annual Children’s Water Festival. This year marks the 25th year the Southwestern Water Conservation District (SWCD) has been hosting an annual children’s water festival in Southwest Colorado. The Children's Water Festival presents a unique opportunity to educate fifth grade students about local water issues and the environment and helps them understand how they can protect water supplies and their environment. Volunteers are needed!
May 13, 2023 | World Migratory Bird Day. Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day with a special celebration! Join Fort Collins Audubon, Northern Colorado Wildlife Center, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas for a morning of avian adventures.
May 17th, 2023 | Plumtaw Premier | San Juan Headwaters. SJHFHP will be premiering Plumtaw: A Future With Fire at the Pagosa Center for the Arts in Pagosa Springs at 6pm on May 17, 2023, which marks the one year anniversary of the fire. Following the film, there will be a panel discussing our scientific and philosophical relationship with fire. You are encouraged to participate in this community event. All are welcome.
May 19th, 2023 | Wildflowers and Nature. Celebrate spring with a comfortable 2 mile walk to observe the wildflowers that make the foothills their home. In addition, we'll discuss the local geology and wildlife that coexists in this dry shortgrass prairie habitat. Registration for this event is FREE.
May 20, 2022 | River Runoff Party | Roaring Fork Conservancy. Whether you’re a novice or pro, you’re invited to join us to get river-ready for the summer season! Learn to tie a fly, get a refresher on river etiquette & safety, tune up your fly rod, play watershed trivia for prizes and more!
May 24th-25th, 2023 | West Plum Creek Field Trip | River Network. Join for a field trip along West Plum Creek! You’ll get a chance to talk to local and regional experts, get your hands dirty and test out various assessment methods and techniques that will help you with your Stream Management Plan (SMP) or Integrated Water Management Plan (IWMP). Participants have the opportunity to swap stories and learn from each other for the duration of the 1.5-day event.
May 31st-June 1st, 2023 | Drought Summit | CWCB. The 2023 Drought Summit will bring together local and state partners, technical experts, and community over two days at History Colorado in Denver with sessions exploring drought lessons learned, innovative funding opportunities, the Urban Landscape Conservation Task Force's ongoing work, Wildfire Ready Watersheds, lessons from the field in agriculture, Colorado River issues, balancing storage and conservation, drought innovation and resiliency planning, and more.
June 1st-2nd, 2023 | Yampa Basin Rendezvous: Snows, Flows, and Drought: Managing for Western Water Resilience. This event will bring together members of the local community, researchers from the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), and regional subject matter experts for two days of exploration, discussion, and field learning focusing on how scientists and community can work together to build resilience in the face of western weather and water extremes. The Rendezvous will include morning discussion panels with regional experts, water managers, and local leaders, afternoon field learning, and an evening community event. Attendance for the two-day workshop is free but requires registration which can be found here.
June 2nd-July 1st, 2023 | Run Off - Call for Art | Friends of the Yampa. Friends of the Yampa seek artworks that celebrate the Yampa River and its surrounding watershed. Runoff, a community art show, is in its second year presented by Friends of the Yampa. The mission of Runoff is to bring together artworks that inspire the preservation of water resources, and demonstrate a variety of stakeholder ties to the Yampa River Basin.
June 5th-7th, 2023 | Becoming a Climate Change Educator in Every Discipline - WCU Teacher Institute. Begin (or continue) your journey of becoming a climate change educator by pairing concrete facts about the mechanisms of climate change with the human elements: personal experiences, storytelling, and collective action.
June 10, 2023 | River Float & Festival | Roaring Fork Conservancy. Spend the morning with Roaring Fork Conservancy staff and river ambassadors as we float the lower Roaring Fork River. After the float, join us at Coryell Ranch for lunch catered by Slow Groovin, beer from Odell Brewing, music, and the opportunity to try stand up paddle boarding and fly casting! Prefer not to float? That's okay, join for lunch and fun at Coryell Ranch from 11:30am to 3pm.
June 12th, 2023 | Colorado Brownfields Conference. This year’s theme, Brownfields – Redevelopment Gold, explores the many opportunities associated with brownfields. With unprecedented levels of funding for brownfields cleanup and support and an ever-growing need for community revitalization and affordable housing, it’s time to cash in on the Redevelopment Gold! Everyone from community leaders and municipal staff to consultants and development professionals will be able to learn, grow, and network at this year’s conference. The Call for Sessions opens January 10th through February 26th.
June 22nd, 2023 | Watershed Summit | Denver Botanic Gardens. The Watershed Summit, or “Shed” as it is affectionately known, has become a Colorado tradition. Each June stakeholders gather to discuss current and future water challenges and opportunities facing the state. With the past year having seen increased stress on Colorado and regional water resources – and with the accompanying heightened news coverage, the 2023 event will focus on leveraging heightened public awareness to effect change. Shed ’23 will be a fully in-person event at Denver Botanic Gardens, concluding with the ever-popular happy hour event sponsored by Stem Ciders and Howdy Beer.
August 3rd-4th, 2023 | West Slope Field Trip | River Network. Explore two indicators of river health—floodplain connectivity and flow regime—and practice your facilitation skills through this 2-day field trip! Learn about the Upper Gunnison Watershed Management Plan with Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, connect with other SMP leads, and build a community of practice to collectively enhance work on SMP/IWMPs throughout the state. More details to follow.