About This Event
Join us in celebrating the UN's International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists with an inspiring evening of exploring rangelands through powerful short films from around the world.
These films honor deep connections between people, land, and livestock. You may not recognize the name, but rangelands shape much of the world we live in. Stretching across nearly half of the planet’s unfrozen surface, these vast and often overlooked landscapes support extraordinary biodiversity, store carbon, provide food and fiber, and sustain the lives and cultures of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
The night will feature special presentations by rangelands researcher Dr. Maria Fernandez‑Gimenez and explorer and storyteller Meriwether Hardie. They will build upon the films, sharing stories and insights that can inform our understanding of stewardship, resilience, community, and our collective ecological destiny
Doors open at 5:30 pm and Films begin at 6:00 pm
Free, pre-registration guarantees a small popcorn and drink combo.
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Speaker Bios:
María E. Fernández-Giménez is a retired Professor in the Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University. She has worked closely with ranching and pastoralist communities in the western US, Spain and Mongolia for over 30 years. Recent work focuses on traditional ecological knowledge, community-based rangeland management, and gender and social justice in rangeland and pastoral systems.
Meriwether Hardie is a storyteller and explorer who spent five months in 2025 traveling solo on horseback through South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, living and working outdoors with two horses and her dog. She is currently writing a book about the future of Western working lands, drawing on experiences from the trail and conversations with ranchers, Indigenous families, conservationists, and others navigating the balance between tradition and change.
Meet the Organizer
