Instead of college students, on March 8th from 8:45AM-1:45PM in the Ballroom of Fort Lewis College, middle and high school students will be running their own science conference called the San Juan Resilience Youth Summit. This entirely youth led event highlights and supports regional science research and is supported by the placed-based, environmental nonprofit, Mountain Studies Institute.

First started in 2019, the San Juan Resilience Youth Summit (SJRYS) is modeled after professional scientific research summits and geared specifically for middle and high school students in San Juan Mountain communities. It is a free, "science fair-like" conversational gathering for students to come together and share their projects on any environmental topic that they choose to investigate. Students are provided an opportunity to share their work with, and learn from, an authentic audience of peers, natural resource professionals, and community leaders.

In 2022, the Summit had a smashing success with 122 people, which includes teachers and volunteers. This year, MSI expects a similar turnout. There's still room for contributions from interested students, whether that be formal presentations, posters, discussions, activities, or any other creative idea. MSI encourages students to use their imagination in how they present their work. The deadline for proposals and registration is March 2nd.

Brookelynn Pitsch is the student facilitator liaison for the 2023 SJRYS and is available to support students and teachers who are interested in attending.

Visit www.mountainstudies.org/sjrys for registration and tools to aid brainstorming for project options and style guidelines. If you're not in middle school or high school and still want to get involved, MSI is actively looking for volunteers. Please reach out to Brooke at brooke@mountainstudies.org