Colorado State University’s Environmental Learning Center to Celebrate Volunteer Season Finale Sept 21

In observance of the last day of summer, Colorado State University’s Environmental Learning Center will celebrate the Volunteer Season Finale on Sept. 21.

The event will host various volunteer projects for adults, and nature programs will be provided for children ages 2 to 6. An appreciation lunch will take place from noon-2 p.m. and will be accompanied by bluegrass music.

The Volunteer Season Finale is open to the entire community from 9 a.m.-noon at the Environmental Learning Center’s East Drake site at 2400 Ziegler Road. Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves, water bottles and their own reusable plate and utensils for lunch.

"There are so many benefits from an event like the Season Finale," said Brett Bruyere, new director of the Environmental Learning Center at Colorado State. "It obviously helps with our resource management efforts, so the benefits to the ELC are going to be huge on that day. But there are also the fringe benefits of contributing to a sense of community and helping foster values of environmental stewardship. From a standpoint of creating livable and sustainable communities, we all benefit."

Bruyere’s previous experience provides a solid base for the center’s direction. His experience as an instructor for Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism has helped him become more skilled in good land stewardship practices.

Before Bruyere was an environmental enthusiast, he managed political campaigns, developed grassroots lobbying efforts and conducted public involvement for various government agencies. Later, he was coordinator for a youth outdoor club. "It was the involvement with the outdoor club that sparked a career change and in interest in graduate school," Bruyere said. "I wanted to focus on benefits of outdoor recreation for at-risk youth. There is nothing better than facilitating opportunities for young people to identify and pursue their goals."

Conservation behavior during early adulthood is the concentration of his doctorate which he will complete this fall.

For more information or to R.S.V.P., contact the Environmental Learning Center at (970) 491-1661 or [email protected].