2024 Virtual Colorado Resiliency Summit
Our third annual Colorado Resiliency Summit’s theme was Stories of Resilience: Uniting for Climate Adaptation. We were be joined by story-tellers, subject matter experts at the state and local level, and local communities to discuss the importance of telling our story in achieving climate adaptation goals.
If you were unable to join us for the live event, we encourage you to checkout the following recordings and takeaway materials:
Key Takeaways, Resources, and Materials
Keynote Presentation: Ernest House, Jr. | Senior Policy Director and Director for the Center of Tribal and Indigenous Engagement, Keystone Policy Center
Ernest discussed how resiliency is at the heart of Indigenous communities in his presentation titled “Beyond Land Acknowledgements - Stories of Resilience.” This discussion took a deep dive into the many questions related to land acknowledgements, and uses this conversation as a means in which to level set around the often unknown historical context and stories of the 2 Federally-recognized Tribes in Colorado: The Ute-Mountain-Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Ernest emphasizes the importance of Indigenous communities being part of conversations related to climate, particularly because of their historic relationship to the land, and this being integral and central to Indigenous culture, as well as how understanding and recognizing history and stories of Tribes in Colorado is crucial to building effective partnerships and developing a path forward. Land acknowledgements should never be a means of “checking a box,” and the emphasis should be instead on understanding this historic context, such as the fact that Indigenous communities were forcibly removed from their traditional homelands, and opening conversations for how organizations can repair relationships and seek intentional collaboration with Tribes in Colorado.
Ernest highlights that “collaboration happens at the speed of trust,” and shared where there is need for Local/Tribal Consultation including:
To enable the creation of strategies that effectively address unique challenges and opportunities of Indigenous communities in Colorado.
To leverage opportunities for mutually beneficial collaborations between municipalities, State agencies, Tribes, and Colorado’s American Indian/Alaskan Native communities.
To meet consultation requirements established under memorandum of understanding (MOU) and/or additional Federal or State guidelines.
Center of Tribal and Indigenous Engagement, Keystone Policy Center
“Stories of Resilience”
We took the opportunity to showcase examples from across Colorado where storytelling can mobilize action for climate adaptation.
Andrea Gibson | Colorado Poet Laureate
Andrea shared their poem “Homesick: A Plea for our Planet” as a way to show how “devastating truth” can be deeply impactful, but yet hopeful, and is the kind of art that ignites a desire for us to take action. This poem was an example of how the power of words can move us and inspire us, and a beautiful telling of how the planet supports our livelihood in an abundance of ways, and how we too, “can make the thorns proud” by being in relationship with the earth.
Beth Osnes | SHINE
Beth shared with us the magic that can happen when we empower youth through theatre and performance, and how this can have a place in governmental climate adaptation planning! As the creator, Beth demonstrated Shine Performance, a mini-musical for youth engagement in resilience planning and climate solutions within your community, all free Open-Source materials - everything you need - for producing a musical with youth in your school, organization or faith community. See the Shine Performance website.
Shine Curriculum
This was developed for addressing 4th grade Colorado Next Generation Science Standards and is grab-and-go curriculum ready for use in any 4th grade classroom to engage students in learning about energy, climate, and how to be a communicator of resilience and climate solutions. Free Open-Source materials - everything you need - to guide this in your classroom, co-created with 4th grade teachers in Jefferson County and classroom tested!
Full Curriculum and Supporting Materials Downloadable PDF
Enacting Climate
This is a website containing 4-5th grade level top 82 climate solutions. Includes delightfully illustrated and Open-Source materials engaging for 4-5th grade learners.
Please contact Beth Osnes with any questions or for encouragement and support in using any of these resources as you engage youth in your community to be co-authors of an equitable, survivable, and thrive-able world for life and the ecosystems upon which life depends.
Destiny Hardney & Wayne Watts | Dream, Create, Inspire Tour (DCI Tour)
Destiny and Wayne, co-founders of Dream, Create, Inspire Tour, facilitate songwriting workshops as a means of connecting through storytelling, collaboration, and liberatory practices. During the Summit, DCI Tour worked with the participants to provide a taste of what these workshops can look like! This session focused on an embodiment exercise to help participants use and identify language that can move us all from a space of feeling grief as it relates to our climate, and move us instead to a space of hope and inspiration.
The following is the lyrics to the song that was co-created with participants of the summit:
Intro:
Chief in my bloodline
I sit at the heart of it
Since time and memorial
We’ve been a part of it.
Verse:
I fly like a butterfly shining in Boulder
My energy can never be destroyed I told ya
Collaboration happens at the speed of trust
150 tribes who you need is us (singing)
Mantra-Based Chorus:
I am one with all things (4x)
In alignment with all lifeforms (4x)
I am in full partnership with our planet (4x)
*** The strings in my heart are in tune with the universe (4x) ***
*** taken from Sun Ra’s “I Am Strange” ***
Remapping Activity | From Zoom Chat
Clear
Majestic
Bursts of Color
The freshness
Birds chirping
Sunlight
Plants
Feel Right
Last Mantra: “Species Thriving Together”
Highlighting State Climate Adaptation Progress
Anne Miller, Colorado Resiliency Office Director & Jonathan Asher, Governor’s Office of Climate Preparedness and Disaster Recovery Director
Anne and Jonathan shared the progress and important work happening at the State related to climate adaptation. With the standing up of the Governor’s Office of Climate Preparedness and Disaster Recovery, provides an opportunity for an additional layer of coordination and added capacity for inter-agency climate adaptation progress.
Resources shared:
2023 Annual Progress Report for the Colorado Resiliency Framework Implementation
Monthly Local Government Coordination Calls and Pathways to Recovery & Resiliency Series Webinars
Breakout Sessions
The second half of the Summit’s agenda consisted of two breakout sessions. These were an opportunity for participants to dive into more specific topics around story-telling as it relates to climate adaptation.
Breakout Session 1: Beyond Data: Telling Your Community’s Story with Multimedia, People, and Places
This breakout featured panelists Phaedra Pezzullo, PhD., Associate Professor from the CU Boulder College of Media, Communication, and Information and Evan Barrientos, Conservation Filmmaker and Photographer and the Creator of Fireforest. Each of them shared examples of tools, technologies, and resources for telling the impacts of climate change on local communities, referencing how equity-related data can tell a story, but how the use of multimedia and qualitative approaches can be used to weave a more complete story.
Key Takeaways:
Phaedra shared and defined Theory vs Practice when using data to tell stories: In Environmental Justice communities, data alone is not enough. We need to identify and tell communities’ stories by making sure the stories we tell are empowering communities and not focusing on the negative or the need, while making sure to avoid creating narrative fatigue or asking communities to retell their story over and over.
Phaedra Highlighted the Storymaps used in the Colorado Enviroscreen tool that tell the story of climate adaptation and the diverse stories across Colorado
Evan Highlighted Fireforest, as an example of how timelapse photography and photo monitoring better helped truly show a forest’s ability to recover following a major wildfire, in this case the Cameron Peak Wildfire. The use of this multimedia can better help inform forest management practices and shows how fire is not always negative.
Breakout Session 2: Finding Common Ground through Storytelling
This breakout featured panelists Sarah Bucci from Climate Nexus, Pat Keys, Associate Professor of the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science, and Heather Bergman, Senior Facilitator and President of Peak Facilitation. This breakout pointed out that while diverse perspectives exist on climate issues, it is essential to recognize that we all share a common planet and future. This breakout featured personal stories, experiences, challenges, and real-world examples where storytelling facilitated the achievement of climate adaptation goals and fostered sustainable action, in addition to highlighting the importance of finding common ground and fostering unity among different stakeholders to collectively combat climate change.
Key Takeaways:
Pat Keys shared how he supports his students in envisioning the future through using innovative modeling techniques to help move towards preparedness and resilience versus being stuck in the present.
Sarah Bucci highlighted storytelling-based communication techniques, including the importance of meeting communities where they are at, leading with values, and offering solutions versus focusing on the problem. She emphasized that urgency + hope = action.
Heather Bergman discussed how to find commonality with stakeholders that might not agree, including connecting to life stories, connecting as humans, and the importance of moving forward and not focusing on political connections.
Thank you for another amazing Summit!
We extend our deepest thanks and gratitude to our 2024 speakers and creatives, as well as all who participated in this event. If you attended the event, we would love to know what we can do to improve in future events. Please let us know by taking our short survey.