Jewell Coleman
Education Program Manager, Mountain Studies Institute
Durango, CO
October 21, 2024
Jewell Coleman, the Education Program Manager for Mountain Studies Institute met us at the Hermosa Creek trailhead outside of Durango, Colorado. Clad in running shoes and a big puffy, Jewell started our session smiling, with a combination introduction-stretch circle. Mountain Studies Institute is a non-advocacy not-for-profit organization based in the San Juan mountains. The institute consists of several branches: forest health, hydrology, and community science. Jewell's position falls under the purview of the latter. Jewell mostly works with grant programs to get local youth outside, teaching them about the natural world around them.
We spent most of our afternoon with Jewell learning about fire dynamics in the San Juan Region. She spoke to us about the culture of fire suppression in the region and how the figure of Smoky the Bear set the tone for America’s cultural disconnect from fire in our forests. We shadowed Jewell’s curriculum for the day, taking a hike and throwing Native Seed cookies, part of an initiative to give kids an opportunity to have a hands-on impact on the regrowth of native plants following catastrophic fires.
After we finished our hike we made more seed patties for future groups to use! We ended our day with Jewell in the Animas River learning about macro-invertebrates (small water-dwelling bugs and crustaceans) and how they reflect the river system's health, which is intimately connected to forest health. Meeting with Jewell was a wonderfully full-circle experience learning about fire, and how it affects forests, people, animals and watersheds.
by Irving Baldwin