Get Involved


COOLING BOULDER USING NATURE-BASED CLIMATE SOLUTIONS REQUIRES COMMUNITY ACTION.

The scale of action needed to cool our climate will require us to come together as a community—acting as advocates, tenders and stewards of the larger living systems that sustain us.

stylized design of a hand gripping a small gardening trowel. a butterfly is perched on the top of the trowel's handle. the hand is brown and white, and the trowel is gold with brown outlines. butterfly is gold with brown details. background is teal

Taking on climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and more can be daunting – but it doesn’t have to be. Together, we can do this! Sign up for our Cool Boulder newsletter, take a look at our Community Partners pages or our Cool Boulder Calendar of opportunities to see all the awesome work that’s happening in our community, and the local leaders advancing the effort.

  • By getting involved in the opportunities offered by Cool Boulder and its partners, you can help create a more resilient, equitable, and livable city, while restoring the health and strength of our landscapes and ecosystems.

  • Join us in this growing movement - it could be one of the most important, impactful things we can do in our lives! The research-based solutions we implement now as a community will have interconnected and cascading benefits for years — even decades.

LEARN MORE


GET STARTED

We invite you to learn more about the Cool Boulder initiative through our About the Campaign, Community Partners, Latest Updates and our Resources pages.

Interested in receiving more information from us? Subscribe to the Cool Boulder newsletter for action alerts and quarterly updates!

 BECOME A VOLUNTEER


Four people in rain coats crouched down working in the grass
 
 

Ready to volunteer for an upcoming project? Here are some resources to get you started:

➔ Subscribe to the Cool Boulder newsletter for action alerts

➔ Explore events on the community calendar

BECOME A COMMUNITY SCIENTIST


Participants in this action area will have the opportunity to join one or more teams gathering data critical to developing natural climate solutions. These areas include:

  1. Urban heat mapping;

  2. Bee/invertebrate surveys; and

  3. Soils and land health assessment.

In each of these areas, volunteers will be trained to use easy, accessible approaches to gather important data that will help inform climate action.

The City is partnering with the Butterfly Pavilion, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Colorado’s Earth Lab on heat mapping; and with Xerces Society and the University of Colorado on bee and invertebrate surveys.

man outside against a blue sky with trees surrounding him. using a heat mapping tool.

Community Resource Specialist Teams

Participants in these teams will be trained to help community members with plant selection, planting guidelines, and best practices, ongoing maintenance, problem identification and solutions. Two volunteer training programs are currently available, which are sponsored by Cool Boulder and led by Cool Boulder partners.

 
stylized drawing of a hand holding a shovel with a butterfly on top of the hand
 

POLLINATOR ADVOCATES TRAINING

This multi-session training, led by Andrea Montoya (Suelo Bueno), enables those who go through the program to become resources to their neighbors, other community members, or organizations by assisting in the design, installation, maintenance, and monitoring of pollinator habitats throughout the city.

 
Stylized drawing of a few leaves on a branch with an acorn. teal background
 

TREE TENDERS TRAINING

Tree Tenders trainings occur twice a year, in the Spring and Fall, and are led by the PLAY Boulder Tree Trust. Tree Tenders learn basic tree planting maintenance and share with other residents in need of assistance caring for and planting trees on private property; facilitate tree distributions; lead volunteers in planting projects; and share education materials and Tree Trust initiatives with the community.

Want to get in touch with us?

You can reach us at info@coolboulder.org! To help us respond more efficiently, please include a clear subject line, and be aware that we do our best to respond quickly but in busy times it may take us up to 1-2 weeks to reply.