Last night, our community packed into Patagonia for the Boulder premiere of Thirsting for a Future, a new documentary from filmmaker Christi Bode and Moxiecran Media exploring K-12 climate and water education across our state. Thank you to everyone who came out to watch, connect, and be part of the conversation!
We were especially proud to see our annual Youth Unity Rising Summit featured in the film, alongside our own Giselle Arroyo, Climate & Youth Justice Director. Seeing Colorado’s youth-led climate movement represented on screen, in a room full of the neighbors and organizers who make that movement real, was a genuinely special moment for our community.
After the screening, the evening turned into exactly the kind of gathering we love hosting: a lively panel conversation featuring youth leaders from our new Sustaining Tomorrow Youth Council. A huge thank-you to panelists Evan Gu, Megan Liao, Muriel Soutiere, Mia TallBull, Allie Morton, Lauren Poole, and Erin Greenwood, along with filmmaker Christi Bode, for sharing their perspectives and fielding questions from the audience. Hearing directly from the young people leading this work, in their own words, is what made the night unforgettable.
Stories Featured in the Film
- Cross-State Watershed Connections: an innovative Watershed Pen Pal program connecting students in Aurora with peers in the Roaring Fork Valley, tracing water’s journey from the Continental Divide to Front Range taps.
- Indigenous Ecological Knowledge: Indigenous perspectives and cultural connections to water in the Four Corners region, through dialogue with neighbors from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Navajo Nation.
- Youth-Led Civic Action: high schoolers turning classroom science into real-world impact, including student-designed no-idling campaigns to improve local air quality.
- Overcoming Institutional Barriers: the real challenges educators face, from tight instructional schedules to funding shortfalls and local political pushback, and how community organizations help fill the gaps.
Thirsting for a Future will continue its tour throughout Fall 2026, screening in theaters, school auditoriums, statewide conferences, and community centers across Colorado. It will also air on Rocky Mountain PBS on November 8, 2026 at 5:00 pm.
