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Colorado GROW Youth Institute 2026 (free registration)

Name: Colorado GROW Youth Institute 2026 (free registration)
Start: 2026-04-14T08:30:00-06:00
End: 2026-04-14T15:15:00-06:00
Location: CSU Spur

April 14 @ 8:30 am - 3:15 pm

Attention Colorado high school students! Join us for the Colorado GROW Youth Institute – where we connect Colorado youth for a hunger-free world. To participate, students complete a Global Challenge research paper focusing on a country and global challenge of their choosing. View student resources to learn more.

Event highlights:

Share your research: Present your findings and propose solutions to global challenges.
Engage in hands-on activities: Explore science immersions at the CSU Spur campus.
Connect with others: Meet other students and leaders across Colorado making a difference in food security.
Unlock opportunities: Gain access to exclusive scholarships, internships, and travel opportunities.

Registration (closes March 17)

Student registration
Educator registration
Please note that Global Challenge research papers are due at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31. Submit a paper.

Tentative agenda:

8:30-9 a.m.: Registration, breakfast, networking
9-9:20 a.m.: Opening remarks
9:30-11:25 a.m.: Immersion and Service Activities
11:35-1:15 p.m.: Lunch and Roundtable Discussions OR Educator Professional Development (lunch is provided for attendees)
1:15-1:30 p.m.: Group photo
1:30-2:30: Career Exploration
2:30-3 p.m.: Certificate ceremony
3-3:15 p.m.: Program closing

Thank you to our 2026 supporters and sponsors.

Details

Date: April 14
Time:
8:30 am - 3:15 pm

Organizers

Venue

CSU Spur
4777 National Western Drive
Denver, CO 80216 United States + Google Map
View Venue Website

KATHLEEN GALVIN

University Distinguished Professor, College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University

Dr. Kathleen Galvin is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Geography and former Director of the Africa Center at Colorado State University. She is also an Advising Faculty member for the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, where she founded the Human-Environment Interactions specialization for graduate students interested in a robust academic background in social-ecological systems.

She has conducted interdisciplinary social-ecological systems research in the drylands of East Africa and East Asia. Galvin has worked with local communities on land-use change, biodiversity conservation, food security, and climate change impacts and adaptation. She uses social-ecological systems frameworks, simulation modeling, and geospatial tools to understand human-environment issues and interactions. Her current research examines local perceptions of climate change and environmental issues, and explores actions to achieve viable solutions in Kenya. Another project focuses on understanding the trade-offs of community-based conservation for people and the environment throughout Africa. She has just completed a NASA grant to understand household decisions, ecosystem change, and atmospheric water recycling in Kenya through modeling for water futures.

She has taken on transdisciplinary science, linking science with society to ensure that her work’s impact goes well beyond the academy. As a lead author of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES, 2019), she was instrumental in linking the science of biodiversity and ecosystem services with diverse governance and knowledge systems worldwide.

She is a Fellow in the Society of Applied Anthropology, a past Fellow in the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program, and a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In 2012, she received the National Sustainability Science award from the Ecological Society of America for her team’s efforts to use their scholarship to collaborate with pastoral communities and policymakers in eastern Africa. In 2017, the College of Liberal Arts awarded her the John N. Stern Distinguished Professor Award, recognizing a career of outstanding research, teaching, and service achievement.

Colorado GROW Youth Institute 2026 (free registration)

Details

Organizers

Venue

Hours

Location

CHRIS SHAFFNER

JAMES HENDERSON

EMMA TROLLER

PETER CULP

KATHLEEN GALVIN

CHRISTINA SOHN

BORIS NIKOLAEV

ELIZABETH BABCOCK

ALEX BUDAK

KAREN SCHLATTER

LINDSAY ROGERS

JARED ROMERO

JULIE DAVIES O’SHEA

GIGI KARMOUS-EDWARDS

MARA WALLER

TOM VILSACK

KATE WATKINS

TONY FRANK

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