Thirsting for a Future, a new 30-minute documentary produced by award-winning filmmaker Christi Bode, offers a compelling look at the state of K-12 climate and water education across Colorado, investigating how school districts, non-profit partners, and local communities prepare young people to face pressing environmental realities including drought, wildfires, and shifting water security.

Documentary highlights and featured stories include:

• Cross-State Watershed Connections: Following an innovative Watershed Pen Pal program that connects students in urban Aurora with peers in the Roaring Fork Valley, exposing students to the journey water takes across the Continental Divide to Front Range taps.
• Indigenous Ecological Knowledge: Highlighting Indigenous perspectives and cultural connections to water in the Four Corners region through dialogue with
  neighbors from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Navajo Nation.
• Youth-Led Civic Action: Demonstrating how high schoolers translate classroom science into real-world civic impact through initiatives like student-designed no-idling campaigns to improve local air quality.
• Overcoming Institutional Barriers: Addressing the real-world challenges educators face—including tight instructional schedules, funding shortfalls, and local political pushback—and showing how community organizations fill critical educational gaps.

Join us at the Crystal Theatre on September 23 for a special community-wide film screening of the documentary and for a post-film forum with local experts.

• 30-Minute Screening: Experience the compelling stories of local youth and educators leading watershed stewardship across the Roaring Fork Watershed.

• Interactive Post-Film Forum: Guided by filmmaker Christi Bode; Megan Dean, Roaring Fork Conservancy's Director of Education; and Sarah Johnson, founder of Wild Rose Education. We’ll shift from passive viewing to active community dialogue using live digital polling and seat-to-seat discussion.

• Direct Pathways to Action: Discover how students, parents, and educators can directly engage with and support the upcoming Colorado Youth Climate Program and Roaring Fork Conservancy initiatives.

This is a free event thanks to support from Aspen Community Foundation.

Seats are limited—reserve your spot at https://www.wildroseeducation.com/event-details-registration/thirsting-for-a-future!