Thank you for attending the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and wanting to take direct action to help our region and the planet! Here are some actions you can take to make the world a greener place:
We are on Indigenous land
If you are attending the in-person event, we are gathering on the occupied, stolen, and unceded ancestral and traditional lands of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute Nations, as well as 48 other nations that occupied this land in the last 500 years.
If you are attending this event virtually, you can see whose land you are gathering on at native-land.ca.
As a first step towards accountability and reconciliation, we must commit to knowing the history of genocide, displacement, and dispossession that created Colorado. An Indigenous organization working on examining the true history of Colorado and working to develop restoration recommendations and education for the Colorado community is People of the Sacred Land. We ask that folks support these efforts.
Additionally, you can support the work of the following Indigenous-led organizations in our area:
- Womxn from the Mountain (direct actions below in the Actions from our Featured Partners section)
- Sand Creek Massacre Foundation
- Spirit of the Sun
Actions from our Featured Partners
Support Womxn from the Mountain
Womxn from the Mountain was founded in 2018 by Indigenous womxn as an inclusive group for all women, trans, nonbinary, Two Spirit individuals, and diverse communities. Their mission is to empower holistic needs through equity, transformative education, and culturally responsive healing arts.
Take direct action to help shut down Suncor, one of Colorado’s largest emitters of greenhouse gasses and toxic air pollutants.
Support Womxn from the Mountain with a donation. Every little bit that you commit goes a long way in helping them to fulfill their mission.
Support Next 100 Colorado
Next 100 Colorado is a BIPOC-led coalition of individuals, organizations, and vetted allies committed to building a just and inclusive parks and public lands system. They provide a space where BIPOC leaders and allies who have demonstrated commitment to equity, justice, and inclusivity can find community and inspiration; a vehicle through which members can collectively build an outdoor culture and industry that serves, celebrates, and centers the voices of those who have been intentionally excluded; and an opportunity for allies and accomplices to utilize their privilege, power, and access to amplify the work of members in an impactful, tangible, and supportive way.
BIPOC Individuals and BIPOC-led organizations: Join Next 100 Colorado as a member! Visit Next 100 Colorado’s membership page to learn more and apply.
White individuals and white-led organizations: Join Next 100 Colorado as an ally! Check out the allyship expectations and process (half way down the membership page) to learn more and apply.
Support Next 100 Colorado with a donation. Next 100 Colorado is supported by funding from Great Outdoors Colorado and New Belgium and hard work and in-kind resources from our members. They welcome additional financial support.
Subscribe to Next 100 Colorado’s biweekly newsletter to learn about projects, events, jobs, member and ally successes, and DEI trainings and resources.
Join Community Science
Colorado Pika Patrol
The Colorado Pika Project is a research project implemented by community scientists across Colorado. Through long-term monitoring of pika populations, we are not only providing useful data to researchers and land managers, but we are doing so in a way that educates and engages Coloradans in conservation and the local impacts of climate change.
Pika Patrol App
Can’t commit to the Colorado Pika Patrol project? The Pika Patrol App allows you to record observations of American pikas wherever you find them!
Colorado Corridors Project
Colorado Corridors Project remote-triggered cameras collect tens of thousands of photos each year in an attempt to make a case for building an overpass for wildlife along the I-70 mountain corridor. Because of this overwhelming data, they need help identifying the wildlife you see in these photos. With your help, they can process and analyze the data much faster than if they did it on their own.
Colorado Bat Watch
Colorado Bat Watch was developed by Rocky Mountain Wild in collaboration with bat experts from the U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and the North American Bat Monitoring Program. This program recruits and engages community scientists to collect data that will enable these agencies to monitor bat species over time and better understand the impacts of white-nose syndrome and other threats on local bat populations.
Go Big! Central Colorado Bighorn Sheep Survey
The Central Colorado Bighorn Sheep Survey engages the community in recording observations of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, domestic sheep, and domestic goats in Central Colorado. The data collected by volunteers participating in the project will inform conservation strategies for Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in Central Colorado.
Join Denver Zoo’s Boreal Toad Conservation Team
In the summer months, volunteer community scientists on the Boreal Toad Conservation Team help us to search the mountain wetlands of Colorado for this hard-to-find amphibian. The data us and our volunteers gather in this projects informs CPW’s management of boreal toads, identifies future sites for wild reintroduction, and uncovers unknown populations (and we hope even ‘super-toads’ that may have natural resistance to chytrid fungus).
Join Audubon as a Climate Watch community scientist
Explore how North American birds are responding to climate change. This innovative community-science program enlists volunteer birders across North America to count certain bluebirds and nuthatches in the same place (or places) twice each year. By sticking to a scientific protocol and sharing their results, these community scientists help track whether birds are moving in accordance with projections from Audubon’s climate models.
Join Bumble Bee Watch
Volunteers needed to submit photos or videos of bumble bee nest sightings. The bumble bee nest sighting can come from anywhere within North America. An ideal sighting would include an image of the bumble bee (to determine the species), a GPS location (to be used in future habitat analyses), a description of the location and materials of the nest (i.e. in my garden, underground or in a woodpile), and, if possible, a video of the nest, surroundings, and activity.
Join Sheep Mountain Alliance in monitoring local ecology and wildlife
Sheep Mountain Alliance is working with local conservation partners to broaden our offerings of citizen science programs. In many ways, citizen science is an ideal activity for physical distancing, so we are hoping to start a pilot program this summer.
Other Direct Actions from Our Sponsors
- Sign the interest form for CSU’s Master of Conservation Leadership Program! The Master of Conservation Leadership program prepares leaders to address complex conservation issues. The program is built around principles of experiential learning, interdisciplinary instruction, and project-based application. Our students work closely with a network of practitioners and organizations throughout their time in the program to both learn from and contribute to real conservation problem-solving. Conservation Leadership is the option for individuals seeking to make a difference in the lives and ecosystems of our planet. Read more about it here.