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News & Awards

News & Awards

The latest achievements, awards, and impactful milestones from our work in environmental education, featuring staff recognition, media highlights, exciting CEEE news, and recent publications.

Birdseye view of the University of Colorado at Boulder campus.

CIRES Postdoctoral Fellow Grace Bennett-Pierre is Recognized as an Honorable Mention for the 2025 Outstanding Postdoc of the Year Award
CIRES Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at the CEEE and NOAA’s Science on a Sphere (SOS), Grace Bennett-Pierre, has been recognized by the University of Colorado at Boulder's…
Read More on CEEE
Melting bits of ice float over a deep blue ocean in the arctic sea.

PSECCO Announces Release of the Polar Early Career World Summit Synthesis Report
The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) has announced the release of the Polar Early Career World Summit Synthesis Report, a comprehensive summary document…
Read More on CEEE
Carrie McDougall stands on stage with peers and award presenters at the ASTC Award Ceremony as she is presented with her trophy celebrating her achievement.

CIRES Research Affiliate Carrie McDougall Honored with ASTC Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award
 CIRES Research Affiliate Carrie McDougall has been awarded the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for her outstanding…
Read More on CEEE
A person with long hair, wearing a gray jacket and black shorts, stands in front of an interactive exhibit display. The exhibit features an orange panel with white text and a mounted touchscreen showing informational content. The background includes another display and a window letting in daylight

We Are Water shares community reflections in new “Water Meaning Maps” publication
We Are Water’s newly published article “Water Meaning Maps in We Are Water Exhibit Evaluation,” highlights how visitors from rural and Tribal communities in the Four Corners…
Read more on Informal Learning Review
A woman is presenting to a small group of adults seated at tables in a bright, modern classroom. She is pointing at a large screen displaying a slide titled “Climate Action Bingo.” The audience appears engaged, with some taking notes or looking at handouts. The room includes posters, bookshelves, and various educational materials, creating a welcoming learning environment.

HEART Force publication featured as "Article of the Month" in Journal of Geoscience Education
Each month, the editorial staff of the Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE) selects a paper to be free to access and highlights it as the "Article of the month." For July…
Read More on CEEE
A large group of participants from the Resilient Futures Teacher Workshop, held in June 2025, pose together outdoors in front of a historic stone building with red-tiled roofs and arched windows. The diverse group includes men and women of various ages, many wearing name badges and casual attire. The setting appears to be a university campus, with a white event tent and clear skies in the background.

CEEE’s Resilient Futures workshop empowers teachers with climate literacy resources
CEEE hosted a two-and-a-half-day training for over 50 Colorado teachers, focusing on climate literacy, hazard education, data-driven instruction, and social-emotional…
Read more on CIRES
Ryan Vachon presenting at the Sustainable Research + Innovations Congress. There is a camera on the right side of the screen and a presentation on the back. Ryan is holding a microphone which he is speaking into

Ryan Vachon Co-leads 2025 Community Storytelling Workshop at SRI Congress
Ryan Vachon, filmmaker and research associate at CEEE, attended the Sustainable Research + Innovations (SRI) Congress in Chicago, Illinois, where he helped facilitate a…
Read More on CEEE
A group of happy hikers, dressed in outdoor gear and backpacks, poses enthusiastically on a scenic mountain trail. The front woman has her arms spread wide, smiling brightly, while the others behind her do the same, holding up trekking poles. They are surrounded by green grass, wildflowers, and majestic tree-covered mountains under a partly cloudy blue sky. The mood is joyful and energetic, capturing the spirit of adventure.

Girls* on Rock receives 2025 Innovative Environmental Education Award
The Girls on Rock program, hosted by the CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation, won a 2025 Innovative Environmental Education Award from the Colorado…
Read more on the CAEE website
Teachers at Bio Summer Workshop 2023. Credit: Bio Team

Students use observation, creative thinking to uncover meaning in scientific data
The Building Insights through Observation Project has developed a framework for incorporating art-based education into science classrooms. The project has strengthened…
Read more on CIRES News
CEEE team photo on the front stairs of the building

CEEE Receives Three Summer UROP Awards
We’re thrilled to announce that CEEE has received three UROP Summer Faculty Grants! Two were awarded to Anne U. Gold, Director of CIRES CEEE, and one to Grace Bennett-Pierre…
Read more on the CU Boulder website
HEART Force students learning about the program

HEART Force Participants Win Statewide Award for Wildfire Preparedness Project
This marked the first year that Primero students entered the RISE Challenge, hosted by national nonprofit Earth Force, though they have been active participants for several…
Read more on the World Journal website
People standing in a field near a mountain range

Former RECCS intern awarded NSF fellowship
The National Science Foundation has awarded 12 University of Colorado Boulder students with the prestigious graduate research fellowship, which places the university in the…
Read more on the CU Boulder website
Megan Littrell

Spotlight on CEEE's Megan Littrell
Meg Littrell, an education researcher and evaluator at the CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE), studies place-based education, science learning, and…
Read more on the CIRES Spotlight News
NNA 2025 group photo

CIRES hosted its largest event ever, Arctic Science Summit Week
Last week, CIRES hosted its largest event to date: Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW), an international gathering of nearly 1,000 participants focused on sharing Arctic…
Read more on the CEEE events page
Leah standing in front of NOAA building

Finding Her People, Place and Purpose
Leah Shipley, a first-generation college student, overcame a challenging upbringing to enroll at Front Range Community College (FRCC). Through TRIO Student Support Services,…
Read more on Front Range Community College
Elk range

Exploring Innovative Sessions with CEEE at AGU24
The CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE) will bring engaging and impactful programming to the AGU24 meeting, December 9-13, 2024, in Washington, D.C…
Read more on the CEEE events page
Climate Literacy

CLEAN revitalizes climate education with new climate literacy principles
October 18, 2024. The release of the 2024 Climate Literacy Guide by the federal government, which emphasizes climate justice, solutions, and the inclusion of Indigenous…
Read more on CIRES
Glacier hiking

CU Boulder launches new course to foster inclusive and safe field expeditions
September 23, 2024. CIRES has partnered with the ADVANCEGeo Partnership to launch ADVANCEing FieldSafety, a free online course aimed at creating safer, more inclusive field…
Read more on CIRES
Boulder

Four CIRES researchers join Council of Fellows
September 10, 2024. Antonietta Capotondi, Anne Gold, Matthew Shupe, and Christine Wiedinmyer joined the CIRES Council of Fellows, bringing diverse expertise in oceanography,…
Read more on CIRES
GOrock

CIRES' Girls* on Rock program finds new footing in 2024
September 5, 2024. Girls* on Rock program, a 12-day wilderness science expedition, empowers high school youth—cisgender girls, transgender, nonbinary, and…
Read more on CIRES
Colorado River

Traveling "We are Water" exhibit makes its debut in Grand Junction (Mesa County)
July 14, 2024. "We are Water" brings a traveling exhibit and interactive programs to rural, Latinx, and Indigenous communities in the Four Corners Region of the U.S. and…
Read more on KJCT News 8 abc
Desert from We are Water trip

Page Middle School's ECAP program visits CEEE "We are Water" exhibit
February 6, 2024. The Education Career Action Plan (ECAP) is a statewide initiative designed to guide middle school students in mapping out their academic and career pathways…
Read more on the Lake Powell Chronicle
Group of students with a camera and equipment filming

New center inspires curiosity, community, and action in environmental science
The new CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE) is dedicated to three broad goals: excellence and inclusion in environmental science education, career…
Read more on CIRES
HEART Force Teacher Fellows and Earth Force Program Managers gather around the hood of a car in the field, studying a map with Theo Engel, Assistant Fire Management Officer from the Gunnison Ranger District. The group, surrounded by shrubs, learns about the 2023 Lowline Fire.

Gunnison High School students students tackle wildfire solutions with HEART Force
December 6, 2023. The Gunnison Times profiled local students' participation in the HEART Force wildfire curriculum, and their efforts to better prepare their community for…
Read more on the Gunnison Times
Group of people on stage and a podium

CIRES We Are Water team receives Governor’s Award
In October 2023, the CIRES’ We Are Water team received prestigious recognition at the annual CO-LABS Governor’s Awards. The Pathfinding and Partnerships Award honored the…
Read more on CIRES
Two people in wooded area and brush

Students build science identity through immersive research experience
Each summer, community college students from Colorado and surrounding states converge on the CU Boulder campus to participate in an immersive nine-week research program. A…
Read more on CIRES
Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

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