Learn how local arts nonprofit Concrete Couch has turned a concrete dump into a community asset – a park and learning center. Caitlin Hannigan and Jorge Estevez also share how Concrete Couch has contributed to increasing interest and engagement in the arts and sustainability in Colorado Springs.
Discover how the symbiotic relationship between our environment and our economic development can lead to a more sustainable future with national speaker and Colorado author, John Giordanengo.
What is a permablitz? Ally Richardson invites fellow permaculturists Alexandra Malecki and Beth Carbone to discuss this engaging social permaculture event.
Learn about the GRIT Program that offers training in a brief conversational intervention used to support effective coping for those in your natural social network.
Learn how 350 Colorado can help you become a climate activist, or have more fun and be more effective if you’re already an activist.
Colorado’s Circular Economy Development Center facilitates connections in Colorado to create circular economy solutions using materials that Coloradans recycle. Archibald, Southern Front Range Satellite Office Coordinator for the CEDC shares details and case studies.
Learn about deep nature connection, nature deficit disorder, great programming in the area, and ways we all can engage to feel a belonging amongst the other species that live in the lovely Southern Colorado region.
Learn how plants nurture us, tour Mari Marques’ stunning and bountiful gardens, and discover advantages and applications for plants thriving in our area, including those often deemed invasive or labeled as weeds!
Discover practical ways to reconnect your home landscape with nature. Learn how to provide food, water, and shelter to support pollinator habitats in your yard.
Learn about water resource limitations and challenges for Colorado and Colorado Springs.
Learn about a great resource in the Pikes Peak Region to help you recycle many items you can’t just toss into curbside recycling.
The Transition Town grassroots movement is a way you can impact your own neighborhood.
Katie Helm, Conservation and Sustainability Program Manager for the City of Fountain, provides an update on the city’s sustainability efforts.
Learn about City of Colorado Springs sustainability efforts – from both a strategic and an operational perspective.
What’s the law on plastic bags and polystyrene cups and take-out containers? What other legislation is in effect or potentially coming soon to move the state toward zero waste?
Why might you want to attend a permaculture design certification course offered in our region?
Richard Skorman shares an environmental vision and a unique community building opportunity that can help with the restoration efforts of our local watershed – creating natural landscapes that everyone can enjoy: Poor Richard’s Rubbish Roundup!
Do you approach the holidays mindful of the environmental impact of shopping, gifts and food?
Current and upcoming legislation that will impact greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, zero emission vehicles and consumer energy costs.
Continue your deep dive into permaculture principles in the second part of a series hosted by Pikes Peak Permaculture.
Get to know longtime nonprofit Leave No Trace organization, its principles and its programs.
The wonderful experience of beginning to understand how natural systems work in our environment and climate.
Learn how Denver Public Schools’ Climate Action Plan was developed and is being implemented.
Learn about the environmentally sensitive design and construction of the new Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center and the Living Building Challenge certification process.
Pikes Peak Permaculture discusses the importance of permaculture education to connect our children to nature, and how impactful it was in a local school.
How homeowners and the community can reduce wildfire risk and prepare for a wildfire event.
Join Pikes Peak Permaculture’s team as we introduce ourselves, permaculture and our mission here in the Pikes Peak region.
If you’re looking for a place to grow delicious produce this summer, get the scoop here.
What does the April ballot success of the Trails and Open Space tax renewal tell us about our community, and how might we use that to address shortfalls in county and city parks funding?
Learn about the 2022 county parks master plan, including updates to future open space and park areas, revisions to trail alignments, and an asset management plan to outline critical needs.
CSA’s, community gardens, farmer’s markets and the Hunt or Gather Buying Club are discussed by local food experts and champions, Michele Mukatis and Megan Andreozzi Harris.
Food cultivation, land-based learning in empowering youth, and the central role of farmers as caregivers in our region are essential parts of building resilient community relationships with land.
How will Colorado Springs’ updated zoning and subdivision ordinance make our community more sustainable and resilient?
The new disposable plastic shopping bag “ban” and Colorado’s miserable recycling rate (15%) are among the topics as we hear from Liz Chapman, Executive Director of Recycle Colorado.
Learn about the changing climate in Colorado with Peter Goble of the Colorado Climate Center.
In observance of arts month, get arts and culture updates from Andy Vick, executive director of the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region; and Natalie Johnson, executive director of the Manitou Art Center.
An update on the Colorado Water Plan from Jeff Rodriguez, Regional Water Coordination Specialist with the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
Stormwater management is a critical environmental concern for a large urban area like Colorado Springs.
Learn about the newly revived Kathleen Marriage Garden at Sondermann Park, and how you can incorporate native plants into your landscape and help support a healthy watershed.
A dry winter, long-term drought, and record low levels in major Colorado River reservoirs have all of us wondering what we can do to minimize our water consumption.
How will Colorado Springs meet its water needs for the next 50 years?
Colorado Springs Sustainability Coordinator Samantha Bailey fills us in on her current efforts, the new SustainableCOS project, and her goals for the future of Colorado Springs.
Learn how to calculate the carbon footprint of some of your common activities and convert that it into work that reduces overall carbon emissions.
Get the state of the science and public policy related to wolves in the U.S. today.
An introduction to Arts Vision 2030, the new cultural plan to support arts and culture in the Pikes Peak Region.
Learn about opportunities to lower your carbon footprint by getting around town without a car.
What should be considered in designing projects to address environmental issues, and how can we best integrate these?
How and why has Colorado Springs grown to be the second largest city in Colorado, and what are the environmental implications of this?
Creek Week events give you an opportunity to take care of our local water resource.
How do our local city and county governments compare to other communities in Colorado and the nation?
The Demographics council of the Peak Progress Quality of Life Indicators Report share the contributions they’re making to the next version of the report.
Get a tour of the new El Paso County Master Plan recently adopted by the county commissioners.
How do we ensure all Colorado children are engaged in outdoor learning experiences?
Why do we need to grow more of our own food?
An ambitious new project near downtown is cleaning up an old construction materials dump and turning it into an amazing community treasure.
A new non-profit co-op is working in Colorado to help people go solar, simplifying the process and reducing costs.
Boulder County told Byron Kominek you cannot put solar panels on agricultural land; it violates zoning. But Byron persisted.
Explore the good reasons for political conservatives to be concerned about the climate crisis in this conversation with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL).
What steps can the Biden administration take to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Bureau of Land Management to better address its conservation and climate change goals?
Will Toor shares a summary of State projects, activities, and initiatives, and the Colorado Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Pollution Reduction Roadmap.
What can you do to create a sustainable, just, and carbon-free city?
Frank Kinder, Water Efficiency Program Manager for Northern Water, updates us on the conservation work of this regional water provider.
Colorado College students demonstrate just how engaged and activated their generation can be.
The holidays are coming and that means shopping, gifts, and food. Do you approach the holidays mindful of the environmental impact of all these activities?
Flying, driving, bus, train, bicycle, on foot, even staycations. What do we need to know to make responsible decisions about the way we move about? Dave Gardner, host of the GrowthBusters podcast about sustainable living, shares data and tools to guide us.
Christian Nelson and Michael Avanzi of Colorado Springs Utilities share the future of energy production in our community.
What’s happening and what can we expect in terms of how we get electricity to power our homes, business and industry? How clean can it be, and what it will cost?
This ceremony kicked off the Manitou Springs Forest Garden Initiative, in which Manitou will be planting tree guilds – natural communities of tree/plant relationships.
Don’t miss the 7th annual Creek Week Cleanup, September 26 – October 4th. Every year, citizens of Southern Colorado step up, put on their environmental steward hats, and join with friends and neighbors in what’s become the largest watershed-wide cleanup in Colorado. In this episode, Alli Schuch shares how we can all participate this year.…
A conversation about why Colorado needs gray wolves and why Proposition 114 is an epic opportunity to restore a natural balance – The 2020 election in Colorado is shaping up to be historic, but not for the reasons you might think. Voters in Colorado will get the chance to direct wildlife managers to reintroduce gray wolves, nearly 80 years after they were eradicated on behalf of the livestock industry.
How can we improve the Pikes Peak Region 2030 Plan? Konrad Schlarbaum (director of Green Cities Coalition) discusses his recommendations for improvements to the regional sustainability plan (PPR 2030).
What can we learn from indigenous people about caring for the land on which we depend for our food?
You can’t escape toxic PFAS chemicals. They are everywhere. Get an update on what we know and what’s being done about water contamination by PFAS
Colorado needs Wolves – not merely to restore a natural balance or the wildness that we all seek – though wolves will do that if they are present for long enough, in sufficient numbers and with wide enough distribution – but also to ensure that we pass on a Colorado intact, with a complete suite of native wildlife, to enrich future generations.
Big things are happening for tiny homes in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs Principal Planner Lonna Thelan fills us in on how city planning and zoning issues affect tiny home locations, and Shelley Jensen, founder, CEO and chief community strategist of We Fortify, shares details of her first development, Working Fusion at Mill Street.
Does the City of Colorado Springs have a plan in case of a Zombie Apocalypse? Find out on this episode of Peak Environment. Learn about the myriad projects and initiatives managed or assisted by the City of Colorado Springs Office of Innovation & Sustainability.
Learn all about a very unique community asset. Smokebrush Farm is a small, biodynamic farm in Manitou Springs that serves as an educational model as well as a retreat center. Yoga classes, an art club, Indian dance class and artist residency programs are part of the program, which is part of the Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts.
Did you know less than 15% of donated clothing in the U.S. ends up in our second-hand market? Or that each cycle of a washing machine can release more than 700,000 plastic fibers into the environment? Paper and paperboard account for 29 percent of our municipal waste stream, and yard trimmings and food scraps account for another 27 percent.
The future looks bright for renewable energy, according to Joe Jenkins, Principal at Environmental Compliance Systems LLC, but there is a dark side.
You might be surprised at all the ways your library contributes to sound environmental stewardship. The American Library Association Council passed a resolution in 2015 on the importance of sustainable libraries.
A one-of-a-kind approach to community gardening pulls out the stops on community building. Richard Mee and a few fellow community garden advocates wanted to take the “my” out of community gardening and make it “ours.” They charted new territory in their effort to launch the Westside Community Garden in Colorado Springs.
learn about progress, challenges and initiatives pertaining to environmental air quality in the Pikes Peak Region
Colorado Springs Utilities is in the early stages of updating its EIRP – the Electric Integrated Resource Plan, a road map for the city’s electric generation mix over the coming years. Studio 809 assembled a panel of experts to educate us and offer their views on the subject.
Less than 1% of our food is grown within 50 miles of Colorado Springs, estimates Larry Stebbins. Larry is one of the panelists gathered by moderator Ellen Johnson-Fay to discuss what is needed to help local food flourish in the Pikes Peak region.
Is your water safe to drink? Is your soil safe to grow veggies? These questions are front of mind for many residents of the Pikes Peak region. For years, firefighting exercises at air bases in Colorado Springs used chemicals that we now know have contaminated area groundwater and are bad for our health. Find out what we know, and what’s being done about it, from an expert panel convened at the Peak Environment Podfest.
Light pollution is the one pollution that costs less to solve than it does to continue polluting. It also represents a lot of wasted energy and has potential negative health effects. Plus, the lights of the city hide the wonders of the night sky from us. Clint Smith reacquaints us with what we’re missing and tells the story of how the Wet Mountain Valley (Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, CO) became the first International Dark Skies Community in Colorado.
Candidates for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in 2020 share their positions on issues related to the climate crisis. This candidate forum was hosted by Indivisible Denver and fourteen other organizations, held at the Ent Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs on October 6, 2019. Ten candidates (links below) participated. U.S. Senator Cory Gardner and former Governor John Hickenlooper did not. This is part 2, the last half of that forum.
Candidates for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in 2020 share their positions on issues related to the climate crisis. This candidate forum was hosted by Indivisible Denver and fourteen other organizations (links below), held at the Ent Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs on October 6, 2019. Ten candidates (links below) participated. U.S. Senator Cory Gardner and former Governor John Hickenlooper did not.
Learn what’s going on at the podcasting hub of the Pikes Peak region, the Studio 809 podcast collective. Over a dozen podcasts originating in the area can be found at studio809podcasts.com. Studio 809 founder Dave Gardner fills us in specifically on the environmentally focused podcasts originating in the “basement studio” – Peak Environment, the GrowthBusters podcast about sustainable living and The Overpopulation Podcast.
October is Arts Month! Have at least one “arts and culture” experience this month. Art and culture have a lot of value to our community both in quality of life and economic impact. Just the non-profit arts in our region generate 153 million dollars of economic activity annually. The most recent Sustainability in Progress gathering at Ivywild School featured two speakers telling us about arts and culture happenings during Arts Month and year-round as part of a sustainable community.
What is about 40 times as heavy as a hippopotamus, 180 times as heavy as a grand piano, and 42 times as heavy as a car? Listen to this week’s episode to find out. You can pitch in to have clean, healthy waterways in the Pikes Peak Region, starting September 28, in the 2019 Creek…
It’s one of the best-kept secrets in town! There is a service that can evaluate your home’s energy-efficiency and potentially trim your utility bill by 25%. Energy Resource Center is a non-profit that focuses on providing the service at no cost to families that most need the help.
Coal, gas, solar, wind? How should each of these factor into our utility’s future energy plans? CSU is beginning to develop a new Electric Integrated Resource Plan (EIRP), and the utility wants your help. Michael Avanzi, Energy Planning Manager for the utility, provides an overview of the process, and Jim Riggins, president of Southeastern Colorado Renewable Energy Society, provides an engineer’s perspective on why renewable energy is not just the wisest, most responsible generation resource, but is also now the most economical.
When the Trump administration messes with Central Colorado’s public lands, the results are not pretty. Hear what’s happening and what you can do to help protect our “Big Back Yard.”
Manitou Springs has a rich history, and is taking action on climate change. If you missed the July 2019 Green Drinks event at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center, this episode is the next best thing to being there. Michael Miao gives us the lowdown on this museum, and Manitou Mayor Ken Jaray shares about a proposed Manitou resolution for city action to reduce the city’s net carbon footprint.
If you missed Sustain-a-Fest, this is the next best thing to being there. Over 50 exhibitors and hundreds of Colorado Springs residents and visitors converged on Acacia Park July 27 to crank up the volume on sustainable living. In this episode, Peak Environment Co-Producer Dave Gardner visits with several exhibitors and with Ryan Trujillo, the city’s Innovation & Sustainability Manager to bring us perspectives and stories of sustainability efforts in the Springs.
When kids put their hands in the dirt and connect with nature, the results are awesome. Catamount Institute is dedicated to connecting kids with nature and helping them develop into ecological stewards. In this episode, recorded at the July Green Drinks event of the Green Cities Coalition, we learn about the activities of Catamount Institute and Generation Wild, a special Colorado program to provide nature experiences for youth.
Pikes Peak Permaculture leaders Brian Fritz and Becky Elder sit down with Carolyn Baker for an intimate conversation about finding ways to live well as we observe and experience climate disruption, species extinction, and the many other effects of humankind living outside planetary boundaries.
Join the crowd and get your sustainability game on at Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs on Saturday, July 27, 2019. In this episode, Peak Environment co-producers Ellen Johnson-Fay and Dave Gardner are joined by Ryan Trujillo, Innovation & Sustainability Manager for the City of Colorado Springs. Ryan fills us in on the upcoming Sustain-a-Fest event, and also answers questions about the interesting activities of his office and staff.
How are Pikes Peak Region sustainability efforts doing? What are the challenges, achievements, strengths, weaknesses, progress and setbacks? This episode provides a valuable history of efforts to promote sustainable policy and practice in Colorado Springs, and a snapshot of where we are today.
You can fight Mother Nature or you can work WITH her. Forest gardening is a way of landscaping that saves time, money, water…and the planet. Learn all about this ethical style of Earth care, and how you can practice it in your own garden, from permaculturist Becky Elder. This episode is a recording of her…
Can cooperation and collaboration trump competition and profit maximization in generating community wealth? Matt Noyes, son of Chinook Bookstore founders Dick and Judy Noyes, shares his vision for the variety of ways Colorado Springs can benefit from models of cooperative organization and solidarity economy.
Everything you want to know about the PikeRide bikeshare program in Colorado Springs. How does bikesharing help us achieve the objectives of our sustainability plan (Looking to Our Future – Pikes Peak Region 2030)? What are the various ways it serves the needs of, and provides joy to, city residents and tourists?
Everything you wanted to know about vaping, but didn’t know who to ask. How much do you know about the dangers of vaping? Did you know e-cigarettes contain toxins and carcinogens? That youth who vape are four times as likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes? That second-hand vape smoke can affect the health of bystanders? Plus, a preview of the new Children’s Hospital in Colorado Springs. Our health and the health of those in our community is an essential part of sustainability.
Did you know there are over 200 bikes in a 12 square mile area of central Colorado Springs available for you to borrow? Over a million calories have been burned by riders on PikeRide bicycles since bikesharing began in Colorado Springs ten months ago. Jolie Nesmith, Executive Director of PikeRide Bike Share fills host Ellen Johnson-Fay in on how bikesharing works, the genesis of the bike share system in Colorado Springs, and the benefits of bikesharing.
Who Gives a Scrap is a donation based scrap store in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins that carries an impressive mix of arts, craft and hobby supplies in addition to unique vintage finds. At the April, 2019 Green Drinks, co-founders Jayne Blewitt and Lorrie Myers shared their story and how the store works.
How do we get the sustainability message beyond the choir? Social media is an opportunity to tell your story, capture people’s attention, engage with supporters and build community. Skyler Leonard, digital communications specialist for the City of Colorado Springs, shares how to better engage the community about sustainability using social media.
“All mushrooms are edible – at least once,” quips environmental scientist and mushroom expert Mike Essam, president of the Pikes Peak Mycological Society. Mike shared the wonders of fungi in this very popular talk at the March 22 luncheon of the Pikes Peak Environmental Forum. The photographs Mike showed are a key part of the…
The chemicals used in firefighting foam, Teflon, stain-resistant carpet, outdoor sports apparel, and even the lining of your movie theater’s popcorn bags, are everywhere. Since they were first developed in the 1950s, they’ve become so widely used that traces of them have been found in the most remote regions of the globe, and in the…
Singer/Songwriter and climate/energy activist Lindsay Facknitz joins host Ellen Johnson-Fay to share how and why she added activism to the busy life of a mother of two young children. From January 2019 through August of 2020 Colorado Springs Utilities is developing a new Electric Integrated Resource Plan. Lindsay wants to mobilize citizens to let our…
Local food and farmers, composting, permaculture, renewable energy and recycling are among the topics of conversation and announcements as we try something different – “Open Mic” at a Green Cities monthly Green Drinks event. At every Green Drinks attendees get the chance to introduce themselves and make announcements about important local environmental issues and events.…
The Colorado Springs Environmental Action Summit on March 5, 2019 brought together organizations and individuals working on environmental action – in order to coalesce a more effective environmental movement. Members and leaders from over 50 organizations, including Sierra Club, 350.org, ENACT, Green Cities Coalition, the Pikes Peak Justice & Peace Commission, and GrowthBusters. Kevin Mitchell…
We’ve heard about our Watershed and Foodshed, but did you know we have a Fibershed? Learn why it matters what cloth you choose and where you acquire it. Judith Rice-Jones shares what she has learned about the clothes we wear, the fabrics from which they’re made, and our “fibershed,” a concept originated by Rebecca Burgess.…
Water is in short supply on the Front Range of Colorado. You probably knew this, but the details might surprise you in this episode of Peak Environment. Where will the 20-plus metropolitan water districts in El Paso County get their water in the future? Water rights are already being shifted from farms in the Lower…
From growing gardens to creating community to transforming lives, take a peek at what your community library’s Green Team is all about. Pikes Peak Library District Regional Manager Michael Doherty and Senior Library Assistant Debbie Vitulli join host Ellen Johnson-Fay for a tour of the Green Team’s many activities . LINKS: Green Team on Facebook Food Not Bombs…
Keeping our local farms intact and productive is in everyone’s best interest, but it takes much more than just shopping at the farmers market. Creating, nurturing and growing local agriculture will be explored at the Foodshed Forum in Colorado Springs February 22-23, 2019. In this episode of Peak Environment, co-producer Ellen Johnson-Fay discusses the forum with Sean Svette,…
You’ve probably heard palm oil production is causing deforestation and biodiversity loss on a massive scale. You might be surprised, however, how many products contain palm oil. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Tracey Gazibara shares how the zoo protects species and habitat by supporting efforts to produce Sustainable Palm Oil. (See links below for her slides.)…
What is permaculture? According to Becky Elder, it’s not what you do, but how you think about what you do, using nature as a guide. The co-founder and chair of Pikes Peak Permaculture joins host Ellen Johnson-Fay for a very brief permaculture primer. The conversation includes a great tip on eliminating some or all of…
Agriculture and local food play a vital role in the Pikes Peak Regional 2030 Sustainability Plan. Three local food practitioners share how local groups are promoting agriculture and local food in the Pikes Peak region. The speakers share how their work is supporting the goals to: promote urban agriculture and knowledge about food encourage regional…
Eat your way to good health with local foods and grains! Locally grown grains are essential to successful and sustainable local food economies. Beyond environmental impacts, there are also social, health and economic benefits to our communities. UCCS Sustainability, Wellnss & Learning Manager, Associate Professor of Health Sciences, and mastermind behind Grain School, Nanna Meyer, joins Peak Environment Co-Producer…
Now that Coloradoans are able to collect rainwater, with some limitations, you’ll want to pick an expert’s brain about smart rainwater harvesting. In this episode of Peak Environment, we’re sharing permaculturist Becky Elder’s “Rainwater Harvesting” class from the 2018 People’s Tiny House Festival. This episode of Peak Environment comes to us courtesy of Pikes Peak…
Local nonprofit organizations play a key role in creating a healthy, sustainable community. Many nonprofits are working towards the goals of the 2030 Sustainability Plan and need community support in various ways. This episode features a discussion of the giving nature of the Pikes Peak Region. Sustainability in Progress is a monthly program of the Peak Alliance for a Sustainable…
There is a lot of good sustainability practice happening in the Pikes Peak region. The Green Cities Coalition was formed in 2008 to connect the good people and organizations working in this area and foster collaboration. In this episode of Peak Environment, Green Cities Chair Konrad Schlarbaum chats with podcast co-producer Ellen Johnson-Fay about the history of…
“Stop Dissing the Grass,” was the cry of turf expert Nick McNamee to permaculturist Becky Elder. In the arid southwestern United States, thirsty, manicured grass lawns have been getting a bad rap. Is it deserved? Or is there more to the story? This episode of Peak Environment brings you a fascinating discussion held at the…
It’s easier than ever to be an informed, engaged citizen. October’s Sustainability in Progress meeting, hosted by the Peak Alliance for a Sustainable Future, gives us a glimpse of the amazing powers at the disposal of Colorado Springs citizens through the city’s website and its app for smartphones. Jay Anderson, Open Data and Citizen Engagement…
Arts and culture are an important part of a vibrant community, and strong community ties are crucial to a resilient, healthy economy. The Pikes Peak Region is lucky to have many organizations dedicated to Art in its many forms. September’s Sustainability in Progress meeting, hosted by the Peak Alliance for a Sustainable Future, provided a…
Is your house going to erupt in flames or be buried in a landslide? Who are “boosters” and what have they done for Colorado Springs? And how do we measure environmental impact? Who said geology and history are dull? This episode’s stories about environmental and geologic history in the Pikes Peak Region will keep you…
What does it take to have sustainable landscapes in our city? Does this mean removing all plants and putting rocks in our yards, or cutting down all the trees to save water? Heck no! Learn from experts in lawn care, utilities, and the city’s foresters. Speakers: Catherine Moravec, Water Conservation Specialist at Colorado Springs Utilities…
Whether you bike to work or school; ride to save money or time; pump those pedals to preserve your health or the environment; or simply to explore your community, the June 20, 2018 Sustainability in Progress program celebrated the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. In this episode of Peak Environment,…