C4 Celebrates Earth Week
Original Article - Published in the Leadville Herald Democrat May 5, 2025
To celebrate Earth Week in Lake County, Cloud City Conservation Center (C4) recently hosted a Climate Action Workshop, a high altitude gardening workshop and a Recycling Center Tour.
In a press release, C4 reported that on Tuesday, April 25, over 35 community members - ranging from high school students to County Commissioners - came together to share their experiences, concerns, and visions, for a more sustainable and resilient Lake County. The Lake County Earth Day Climate Action Workshop encouraged participants to identify key local environmental challenges and invent future humorous Herald Headlines that captured the essence of what would happen if these issues were ignored by the year 2100. Themes around drought, mining impacts, weather fluctuation, population growth, wildfire, waste, energy, public lands/development, and wildlife changes emerged as top concerns.
C4 stated that the group also found common ground in shared visions and hope for a better future. Participants were asked to imagine what a sustainable Leadville might look like in the year 2100 and create a news report headline from Lake County showing that their vision came true. One headline read: “Native Fish Taken Off Endangered Species List in Scenic Protected Arkansas River Headwaters.” Another read: “Lake County Passenger Rail Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary: Ridership Hits All-Time High.” Another read: “Tax on Second Home Owners Funds Curbside Single-Stream Recycling and Composting in Lake County.” Another read: “Leadville Named Biodiversity Hotspot due to Mining Remediation.” C4 said that these ideas will be used to guide and inform the development of the upcoming Lake County Climate Action Plan in partnership with C4, Lake County Government and the City of Leadville. Residents will have more opportunities for input on the Climate Action Plan through upcoming events including at the upcoming Lake County Wildfire Resilience Fair on May 14th.
On Saturday, April 19, over 50 community members participated in C4 and Lake County Public Library’s annual high altitude gardening workshop. C4 said that there are numerous resources for those who couldn’t attend to get their garden up and running, including Lake County Public Library’s free seed library, the soil and compost bank on Cloud City Farm, Cloud City Farm’s annual plant sale May 30th & 31st and C4’s upcoming summer gardening workshop series.
On Saturday, April 26, the Lake County Landfill and Recycling Center gave a tour of the Recycling Center to the public. Participants learned that recycling from the community fields and recycling center, is hand sorted to ensure it’s clean from contaminants before being processed into bales and sent to Denver.
Robin Ekau-Moody, Lake County’s Landfill and Recycling Foreman, encouraged residents to sort and bring their recyclables up to the landfill and recycling center during their business hours Friday-Tuesday to ensure proper recycling practices and guidance from staff. Hauling a truckload of recycling from Lake County to Denver costs $1,200 per trip, with even greater fees if the recycling is contaminated. Each type of recyclable material generates a small fee, helping the recycling center offset this expense. Ekau-Moody urged residents and businesses to sort their recycling and bring it directly up to the Recycling Center. She encouraged residents and businesses to maintain consistent recycling habits, as recycling aluminum, glass, and cardboard not only supports the sustainability of the recycling center but also provides a financial benefit to Lake County by ensuring the operation continues to run smoothly. Currently both Landfill and C4 staff are participating in the EPA’s Sustainable Communities Accelerator Network to develop a plan for increasing recycling and composting opportunities in Lake County.