Lynx thrive in Colorado forests, but we rarely see one. “Lynx: Shadows of the Forest” is a 20-minute film produced by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Guests of the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership’s Environmental Film Festival will see this local treat.
By Sally High and Rose Chavez | Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership
The Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership (GGP) is bringing its Environmental Film Festival Caravan to Pagosa Springs this Saturday, April 16.
The Tennyson Event Center is hosting the film fest from 2 to 8 p.m. A few wristbands are still available and will be sold at the door. Seating is limited, so buying your wristbands today ensures that you can join us.
The GGP’s mission is to educate the community in sustainable agricultural practices by producing food year-round using local renewable energy. The grassroots nonprofit is a volunteer- and donation-driven organization that manages three dome greenhouses and outdoor gardens on the San Juan Riverwalk downtown.
Since March 2020, the GGP has produced hundreds of pounds of fresh produce, but our educational mission has been on a back burner. In order to keep the public safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth classes, adult workshops and tours were canceled.
“Nature’s Big Year” provides a glimpse into unexpected shifts in wildlife behavior during the 2020 pandemic lockdown. See “Nature’s Big Year” at the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership’s Environmental Film Festival on April 16. For more information, visit www.pagosagreen.org.
Now, the GGP environmental educators are planning to engage with locals and visitors in revitalized lifelong-learning opportunities. Volunteer growers can decide to open the Education Dome to visitors some days on a limited basis.
Since 2020, the GGP has donated hundreds of pounds of its fresh produce to Archuleta Food Coalition and directly to local food pantries. This year, the GGP’s fresh vegetables and starter plants will be offered at the Pagosa Farmers Market.
Activities at the GGP site include providing a home base for upcoming Earth Day activities on Saturday, April 23. Partnering with the Pagosa Springs K.I.D.S. Camp and Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library projects can be strengthened this summer.
Weminuche Audubon’s Riverwalk Naturalist Program will provide tours that teach about the flora, fauna, hydrology and history of our downtown Pagosa wetlands. The Audubon Naturalist tours will start on the GGP site at the Terry Hershey Native Plants Garden several times each week.
The GGP’s amphitheater is already a busy community meeting place. A once-a-week open-mic night is being planned for a weekday evening this summer. A live music night will be welcomed by our creative community.
Proceeds from the GGP’s eighth Environmental Film Festival will enable the GGP to jump-start our community service and educational activities, as well as complete landscaping projects on the Riverwalk site. Buy your $20 wristbands today at Pagosagreen.org. Support the GGP’s Environmental Film Festival this Saturday and connect with folks continuing this dynamic nonprofit organization.
The GGP is “growing food and community with local energy!”
“Soil Care Is Climate Repair” is a must-see film by children in Colorado. The Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership is sharing this uplifting short film at its April 16 Environmental Film Festival. Visit Pagosagreen.org for more information.
Locavore menu
Pagosa chef and baker Kathy Keyes will feature a locavore menu for the dinner that will be served to wristband wearers at the film festival.
The menu will include: local greens empanada made of a mix of greens grown in Centennial Park grow domes (kale, rainbow chard, beet greens, turnip greens and shredded turnip), greenhouse beet hummus with Mountain Mama (San Luis Valley) Ryeman rye crackers, Gosar Ranch sausage Crostini on Pagosa Baking Company Local Loaf (Mountain Mama Whole Wheat and Ryeman rye flour) and local radishes on a traditional French buttered bread slice with sea salt. The rosemary bread that will be used also features fresh rosemary from the education dome in Centennial Park, as well as Rocky Mountain Milling wheat flour and the Pagosa Baking Company sourdough starter from 1996.
Join us this weekend for the film festival and for this luscious locavore menu. For more information about the film festival, the schedule and to buy wristbands, please visit Pagosagreen.org.
