outreach
creative science communication +
community engagement
We believe that science is for everyone and that everyone is a scientist. Through our outreach, we honor different ways of knowing, blending art and science to increase our impact and engagement.
We prioritize recruiting, hiring, and mentoring staff and students with identities that are historically underrepresented in STEM and our lab is actively involved in equity and diversity efforts on and off campus.
See some of our projects below!
Freshwater ecology linocut block prints by Emma Svatos for From Burn to Bloom: The Art + Science of Wildfire RecoveryOur science outreach approach
We approach our outreach like we approach our science—with radical vulnerability.
Engaging the community as experts themselves, we emphasize two-way communication in our science communication. From collaborations with local artists, to bike tours and hands-on field trips, we try to use the affective power of art and play to invite people into our research world.
We also believe in creating a more diverse science universe, which is why we try to engage communities historically underrepresented in STEM. Diversity helps make our science better.
Art + science
We combine art and science to draw people in and explore different ways of seeing and understanding science. From painting to music, we love to find creative ways to share our research.
diversity + inclusion
Science needs diverse perspectives. We try to provide learning opportunities for communities historically underrepresented in environmental science to spark excitement and inspire the visionaries of tomorrow.
movement + science
Even though we spend a lot of time in front of a computer running code or writing papers, our science happens outside! We try to create fun opportunities to move our bodies while learning about our work.
From Burn to Bloom:
The art & science of wildfire recovery
While wildfire is inherently destructive, post-fire ecology holds valuable lessons about hope, resilience, and recovery.
In 2020, the Fort Collins community experienced the largest wildfires in Colorado history. Since then, researchers have been working hard to understand how these high-elevation fires have impacted our ecosystems. To share this research with the public, we partnered with CSU’s Geospatial Centroid, The Intermountain West Transformation Network, and WUI Productions and invited artists across disciplines to co-create hands-on stations for learning and making, combining the emotional power of art with the educational power of scientific research to explore these themes.
From Burn to Bloom was a fun, free, interactive community event for all ages and over 350 people showed up to explore with us.
Read more about the inspiration for From Burn to Bloom here.
welcome to the watershed
In Spring 2025, we partnered with CSU’s Gregory Allicar Museum of Art for the Little Shop of Physics Open House, the largest free science event west of the Mississippi.
We constructed two DIY watersheds using mostly found materials and engaged in dialogue about watershed health with humans of all ages while we painted watercolors made with algae!
river investigators
We host fifth graders from Irish Elementary, a Spanish-English bilingual school in Fort Collins, for a field trip using the Poudre River Investigators—a hands-on, minds-on activity guide—as the starting point.
Alongside CSU Watershed Science professor Dr. Stephanie Kampf’s lab, the Environmental Learning Center, the City of Fort Collins Utilities, the College of Natural Sciences Education and Outreach Center, and the Cache la Poudre Natural Heritage Area, we have a blast learning about river health and stewardship!
Poudre Water quality bike tours
Once a year we partner with the City of Fort Collins Utilities to host a ride-and-learn water quality bike tour. We cycle the Poudre River trail and stop at a few of our sensor sites, where we monitor the water quality using in-water devices that read indicators of river health like temperature and salt levels. We always ask about accessibility needs to make sure we can accommodate folks who need to walk or roll.
Environmental learning for kids
We care about outdoor equity and connecting students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM with opportunities to learn about water quality, data science, and water careers. Environmental Learning for Kids is an amazing program making sure youth of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and girls get outside.
We partnered with them to bring a group of high school students to the Poudre River and explore the water, the data, and potential pathways for their future.
