On May 14, La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) hosted a special recognition event to celebrate the recipients and present their awards.The ceremony honored students who earned the Seal of Climate Literacy with certificates and medals to wear at graduation. Following remarks by Durango School District (DSD) Superintendent Dr. Karen Cheser and Senator Chris Hansen, who sponsored the original state legislation alongside former Representative Barbara McLachlan, each student discussed their project and was presented with the award.
At this year's Seal of Climate Literacy celebration on May 14, Durango High School seniors received Seal of Climate Literacy certificates, plus medals to wear at graduation. A total of 17 seniors earned the award this year, while 10 juniors completed foundational work to receive the official award next year. Event photo courtesy of Emily Missildine of La Plata Electric Association.
Now in its third year, the Seal of Climate Literacy program encourages high school students to deepen their understanding of climate change and take local action. Students earn the seal by completing in-depth, climate-related projects, presenting to a panel of educators and community members, and demonstrating clear skills in scientific understanding, systems thinking, and civic engagement.
The statewide initiative is deeply rooted in local efforts. Durango High School (DHS) students originally helped advocate to state legislators for the creation of the Seal of Climate Literacy, creating social media and letter-writing campaigns and testifying during legislative committee hearings. The seal appears on high school transcripts and diplomas to signal a commitment to sustainability when applying to colleges or jobs.
Innovation in action: 2026 student projects
This year, 27 students engaged in critical research, local advocacy, and hands-on environmental solutions. Seventeen seniors earned their graduation medals, while 10 juniors completed foundational work to receive the official award next year.
For her Seal of Climate Literacy project, DHS senior Gabriella Cowan co-organized and co-hosted a community game night designed to educate participants about drought and managing water resources in Southwest Colorado. More than 150 Durango residents attended the event at The Powerhouse this spring.
The senior projects featured a wide array of local ecological initiatives:
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Reece Chism, Drought Resilience Community Night — Co-organized and co-hosted a public interactive evening at The Powerhouse, using an engaging stakeholder board game to teach over 150 local residents about Southwest climate challenges.
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Gabriella Cowan, Drought Resilience Community Night — Co-organized and co-hosted a public interactive evening at The Powerhouse, using an engaging stakeholder board game to teach over 150 local residents about Southwest climate challenges.
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Giselle Glass, Southwest Colorado Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (SCCORR) — Served as an active youth stakeholder evaluating extensive local grant proposals, analyzing budgets and project execution timelines to help guide the allocation of $2 million in environmental funds.
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Julia Glotfelty, Sustainable Landscaping for DSD — Formulated and presented comprehensive green guidelines directly to the School Board, successfully advocating for the use of drought-tolerant native plants instead of concrete on school grounds.
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Betty Holcomb, Sustainable Landscaping for DSD — Formulated and presented comprehensive green guidelines directly to the School Board, successfully advocating for the use of drought-tolerant native plants instead of concrete on school grounds.
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Oliver Howard, SCCORR Proposals — Collaborated with a student stakeholder group to complete rigorous screenings of state-level recreation proposals, weighing long-term conservation metrics to provide authentic community recommendations.
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Norah Jones, SCCORR Project Review — Analyzed and numerically graded several complex municipal conservation and recreation project proposals, serving as a rare youth voice advising regional leadership on funding priorities.
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Denise Ornelas Lariz, Stakeholder Poster — Interviewed a La Plata County Commissioner to build an infographic analyzing the gap between regional environmental policy data and local conservation steps citizens can take to save water.
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Sophia Long, Species Status Assessment for the Critically Endangered Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) — Compiled an extensive collaborative scientific evaluation tracking how global climate change and habitat fragmentation compound human disruptions to threaten global biodiversity.
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Rowan Lott, Reusable Plates in the Cafeteria — Collaborated with district administrators and school kitchen staff to transition the high school cafeteria away from single-use paper and plastic dishes to durable, reusable alternatives to combat local plastic waste.
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Jack Naffziger, Automatic Watering System for Eco-Friendly Grow Dome — Engineered and wired a custom autonomous watering apparatus utilizing an Arduino processor, a solar power setup, and humidity sensors to regulate garden bed soil conditions at DSD's SOIL Outdoor Learning Lab.
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Kara O'Donnell, Nature — Composed and performed an original advocacy poem during a community poetry evening to raise awareness regarding the mental wellness benefits of public open spaces and the threat of resource extraction.
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Mira Quayle, Riverview Green Team — Spearheaded an ongoing community outreach mentorship program to cultivate environmental stewardship, running monthly club activities such as planting and building birdhouses for local elementary school children.
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Sienna Rogers, High Way Clean Up — Organized and executed recurring roadside litter mitigation sweeps with local youth volunteers, removing refuse from public rights-of-way between Red Mesa and the New Mexico border.
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Karlie Romero, Trail-Making with Durango Trails — Participated in an intensive five-week summer trail development project at Ewing Mesa Road, using various specialized tools to cut back invasive brush and clear pathways to improve outdoor recreation infrastructure.
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Lucy Sagues, Seeds of Change: Developing a New Seed Cookie Recipe — Formulated and tested an innovative, climate-resilient wildland seed cookie recipe designed to support forest revegetation and prevent erosion in high-altitude terrain devastated by wildfires.
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Ellie Shaw, School-Sanctioned Battery Recycling — Partnered with the high school environmental club and a regional processing courier to place specialized safety collection bins on campus, building local infrastructure for community battery disposal.
The continued success of the program highlights the district's ongoing commitment to fostering real-world civic leadership, scientific inquiry, and global stewardship among its high school students.