Walking Mountains Science Center’s Climb It for Climate event educates and inspires

Walking Mountains Science Center held its inaugural Climb It for Climate event this weekend, bringing together over 400 people to immerse in outdoor recreation and education with the goal of invigorating climate action in Eagle County.

The event was centered around a hike on Berrypicker Trail, a popular route on Vail Mountain that rises 2,286 feet over about four miles. Along the trail, the Climb It for Climate event featured education stations highlighting what different organizations in the community are doing to combat climate change in Eagle County and beyond.

James Kenly, the director of individual giving at Walking Mountains Science Center, said that the concept developed as both a physical metaphor of climate action and a window into the programs and initiatives that are being put in motion across the valley to ensure our county reaches its climate goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

“It’s not the easiest hike in the world, and there’s a little metaphor there that climate action is not the easiest journey in the world, but it’s important,” Kenly said. “There are a lot of climate champions in our community who are doing a lot of work really quietly, and it makes the momentum of sustainability difficult to grasp as a regular person. All of these companies are doing things that most of us don’t really know about, so we wanted to get everybody feeling proud to live in Eagle County and to see the work that’s being done here.”

Learning about local actions

Walking Mountains started off the education journey at the trailhead, sharing information about how climate change is impacting our local watershed. During the hike, the Swedish outdoor apparel company Fjallraven explained its process for sustainable design and production while local bands provided a live soundtrack to motivate hikers.

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At the top of the mountain, Vail Resorts and Vail Honeywagon teamed up to talk about how they are working together to achieve the ski company’s goal of zero waste to landfills by 2030. Vail Honeywagon’s compost and recycling services in Wolcott make zero waste a possibility for companies throughout the valley, and Vail Resorts is currently prioritizing waste diversion in its climate action plan, using strategies that can be replicated in other industries.

The town of Vail served as the presenting sponsor of the Climb It for Climate event, and mayor Kim Langmaid shared the town’s climate efforts and accomplishments. In addition to its waste diversion, she highlighted the town’s “Restore the Gore” campaign, which has been working to protect Gore Creek through education and intervention programs since 2011.

Beyond just highlighting the actions of larger companies, Kenly said that Climb It for Climate was designed to inspire individual action and show members of the Eagle County community ways that they can make sustainable changes in their own lives.

A green commuting session talked about alternatives to driving gas-powered cars to get to work and other destinations. These include the county’s electric-powered public transportation, new fleet of Shift e-bikes, expansion of electric vehicle charging stations and the possible adoption of a Regional Transportation Authority if voters approve it in November.

There was also a session on green buildings, where individuals could learn how to reduce their energy and water consumption, as well as options for retrofitting homes to become fully electrified, thereby reducing individual carbon footprints. All of this is possible due to the actions of Holy Cross Energy, which presented its plan for filling its grids with 100% renewable energy sources by 2030.

Matt and Amy Sadler, owners of the Gypsum-based landscaping company Rutsu, launched a brand new education program called Nature Ninja at the event on Saturday. Nature Ninja will provide interactive training programs for children and adults to become more deeply connected with nature, enabling community members to better understand our local environment.

At the end of the day, after absorbing inspiration from these diverse initiatives, all of the attendees were asked to write a personal climate pledge, committing to one action that they can take to help reach the county’s climate goals. 

“We want everyone to know that we’re not alone. Everyone is doing something, we’re all doing different stuff, but this is what it takes,” Kenly said. “The underlying theme here is that none of us is perfect, each of us can do something more, and together all of those actions will actually make a difference.”

A party for the planet

Climb It for Climate focused on a serious topic in a fun way, and managed to sell out in the process. Kenly described it as “throwing a party for the planet,” where our valley’s love for live music, art and the environment is celebrated alongside the dispersal of information and used to inspire action. Given the popularity of the inaugural event, it seems he has struck a chord.

“A lot of climate talks are really just a bummer, and we’re trying to say ‘OK yea, there’s a problem, but we have a lot of solutions’ — it just requires us to do them,” Kenly said. “We saw our community come together on Saturday with a focus on sustainability and climate action, with a curiosity, with a willingness to learn, with an openness to change, to take action that they’re not currently doing, and the way that our community does: with a desire to have some fun.”

The event also served as a fundraiser for Walking Mountains Science Center, raising over $160,000 to support the organization’s work as a hub of sustainability education and climate action in Eagle County. Walking Mountains plans to make Climb It for Climate an annual event that will be able to tell more and more success stories with each passing year, until the county reaches the peak of its climate goals.

For more information about Walking Mountains initiatives and upcoming events, visit WalkingMountains.org.