Loving Our Land

Colorado Humanities and the Regional Economic Development Institute at Colorado State University offer a series of free, online conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing rural Colorado. Loving Our Land, the second event in the series, focuses on natural resource assets, water headlands, and conservation efforts. Panelists Sonja Chavez from the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, Heather Knight from the Center for Collaborative Conservation, Wade Shelton from the Trust for Public Lands, and Mike Lester from the Colorado State Forest Service talk about how their organizations invest in the water, lands, and forests of the state.

Moderated by Dr. Dawn Thilmany, this series of conversations begins with the first program, Innovation and Resiliency in the Covid Era, discussing economic challenges and opportunities.

The series is available to view on Colorado Humanities’ YouTube and Facebook accounts.

Facilitator Dawn Thilmany is a Professor of Agricultural Economics, Co-Director of the Regional Economic Development Institute and Director Engaged Research at Colorado State University.  She specializes in rural economic development and focuses on opportunities related to value-added food market supply chains, as well as applied research on food market analysis and consumer behavior. Her work on agricultural diversification also includes work with agritourism and entrepreneurship in Colorado and the Western US. She is currently the President of the Ag and Applied Economics Association and has held several leadership positions with national ag, food and regional economic associations.  She has been a visiting scholar and collaborated with several USDA agencies, including a current project focused on food supply chains during Covid with the Ag Marketing Service.

Loving Our Land Panelists

To learn how to support this statewide program as a Sponsor or Partner, please contact Director of Programs Mary Hickey at mary@coloradohumanities.org.