The Telluride Institute is an innovative non-profit organization that fosters the transition to a sustainable world. We work with communities, businesses, and the public sector to create and advance real solutions that support the health of environments, cultures, and economies.
TESTIMONIALS FROM VOLUNTEERS
"I wanted to reach out and say thank you for your facilitation of our volunteer experience. The event was great, we really enjoyed being a part of it. We booked this trip with the intention of spending some QT mom, daughter time and to spread the ashes of a fellow mushroom hunter, father and significant other. What we gained from the sessions, the fellowship and the volunteer experience will be very fond memories for us both and that was all of you, so a very sincere thank you to you all!"
Laura and Tyler - 2019 Mushroom Festival Volunteers
TESTIMONIALS from PROFESSIONALS
The Telluride Institute has a long record of bringing intellectual and creative luminaries to the western slope to stimulate discussions about issues that affect our region. The first Telluride institute IDEAS Festival that I attended was the eye-opening and inspiring 1992 Ideas Festival on WATER. The event featured 3 days of panel discussions and presentations by highly respected water lawyers, politicians and environmental activists as well as thought provoking art installations and performances on the topic of contested water. The Institute's "INFOZONE" project was another groundbreaking effort which provided the first internet access to the entire town in 1993- way ahead of the curve for most rural communities. The whole region has benefitted from the Institute's work over the years including their educational programs and various initiatives that serve to elevate the community at large. I recognize the Telluride Institute as an important force in making Telluride a spawning ground for great Ideas, environmental awareness, creativity and compassionate thinking.
-Laurie Lundquist, environmental artist (Telluride, CO)
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I am writing to extol the great benefits my students receive by participating in the Telluride Watershed Education programs of the Telluride Institute. The Norwood Middle School snowshoe trip is the highlight of the year for the students who attend. The chance to get into the back country for experiential education is an amazing opportunity for my students, and the fact that WEP manages to make it happen through grant funding is even more spectacular. It is an unforgettable educational experience that helps these students to have fun and learn about traveling safely in the back country that is their backyard here in San Miguel County. WEP also made the 6th grade start of the year camping trip possible by providing support and curriculum to this group bonding experience. We are so fortunate to be included in this type of educational programming, and I hope others can see the value of this educational outreach and will consider supporting it. When contemplating where to donate your hard earned money, please give to the Telluride Watershed Education Program; it will be money well spent.
-Mo Hanna, Middle School Language Arts Teacher (Norwood, CO)
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The Telluride Institute (TI) is a luminary and pragmatic non-profit organization on the Western Slope that supports our development as a compassionate and educated community - both locally and globally. TI's interdisciplinary and collaborative work in the field of compassion and mindfulness research has recently culminated in the highest level international conference on compassion that has ever occurred. Even with a 30+ year track record in transformative education and significant accomplishments, I believe we will see much more from TI in the years to come.
-Jonathan Barfield, PhD (Placerville, CO)
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The Telluride Institute's calendar (http://www.tellurideinstitute.org/calendar.html) is just the tip of an iceberg that goes very deep. Perhaps a bad metaphor, since those things are melting. The Institute is still hot. Take for example its most recent success, a guest appearance by the iconic artist Christo.
As many know, over a 40-year career (and counting), Christo and his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude (now deceased) became world famous for transforming everyday urban and rural environments into places of magic and wonder. Christo came to town to discuss the status of his latest adventure, "Over the River," a project proposed for a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River between Salida and Canon City. It was a standing room only crowd at the historic Sheridan Opera House.
Telluride was an unscheduled stop. Christo's itinerary called for a talk in Aspen only. Why did he show up? The trip to our box canyon was added to his scheduled thanks to Pamela Zoline, co-founder (with husband John) of the Telluride Institute...
The Telluride Institute is an innovative non-profit organization that fosters the transition to a sustainable world.
The Telluride Institute was founded in 1984. In that time it has raised some $4.3 Million towards its charitable goals, millions more in volunteer time, and has played a significant role in giving Telluride some serious cultural and educational identity during the period when the shape of the maturing resort was in flux.
Founded in 1984 to create strong local environmental and cultural activities in our corner of Colorado we're making change happen through freethinking research that has crossed continents, politics, and disciplines, our programs demonstrate innovative and practical methods for building and sustaining healthy communities and environments.
Rocky Mountain News called us "the World's highest altitude think tank." Others have called us a "think-and-do-tank" because of the practical, hands-on, results-oriented nature of our programs. We work both locally and globally.
Locally, we are working to inspire and inform a growing group of citizens and help turn them into stewards who care for and protect their surroundings and do business with the health of the San Miguel Watershed in mind. The Watershed is a one million acre basin through which flows the San Miguel River, from its headwaters in the 14,000 foot alpine peaks above Telluride to its confluence with the Dolores River in red rock canyon country at 5,000 feet elevation. Over 60% of the San Miguel Watershed is public land, including some of the nation's most beautiful and biologically intact landscapes. But there are many pressures on these high, dry, fragile ecosystems, as the Watershed is also one of the two fastest growing areas on the Colorado Plateau, facing tremendous growth and change.
In response to these pressures and to Wallace Stegner's challenge to Westerners to "build a society to match the scenery," Telluride Institute has developed major programs, Sense of Place and Deep West Futures, which act strategically to inform and equip local communities with the institutions and tools to care for these
We have been very successful at being a germinator - turning creative ideas into solid, practical organization that later becomes independent institutions. Telluride Institute is run by a volunteer board of directors known as Trustees.
Organization name
Telluride Institute, Inc.
other names
TI
1985
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
216 W. Colorado Ave.Mailing
PO Box 1770Headquarters
216 W. Colorado Ave.San Miguel County, CO, US