Community Events

Every fall, Western Colorado University hosts a gathering of scholars, writers, poets, journalists, public officials, community activists, social and natural scientists and the general inquiring minds from the mountain region for a weekend of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural interaction on an issue of concern in the Headwaters Region. The conference features panels and speakers, as well as regional tours exploring art, ecology, people and politics and invites all members of our community to join in exploring topics that shape this place.

Held in early December, the Fall Forum is an end-of-semester celebration and opportunity to learn about ENVS undergraduate and MEM graduate students’ work.

​For two decades, ENVS has hosted a spring speaker, followed by a panel, to discuss a variety of urgent environmental topics. Each year features a different theme, from “Sustainable Business” to “Farm to Table” to an “Environmental Film Festival.” Speakers have included Dave Foreman, Naomi Orestes, Judith Helfund and Arjun Gupta.

Our Master in Environmental Management (MEM) program requires students to complete major second-year projects for community organizations worldwide. Each year, the MEM students complete 25,000 hours of projects per year, extending the reach of overstretched organizations around the planet. We celebrate these projects the first week of May in our MEM Forum. Students share methods, outcomes, stories, struggles, and successes in panels for public audiences. All are welcome. Please contact us for details about joining in person or on Zoom.

The Colorado Water Workshop began in 1976 as a collaborative effort between Western Colorado University history professor and “Gunnison Country” historian Dr. Duane Vandenbusche and Gunnison water lawyer and Western graduate Richard “Dick” Bratton. They felt that Colorado needed a place—high up near the Continental Divide, which divides the state in more ways than just geographically—where the various factions and interests involved in water issues could come to explore options “off the record.”