pairing science and art may seem like two opposites coming together, but at the from burn to bloom event in fort collins, colorado on august 19, 2023, the combination was used to help communicate wildfire recovery concepts to the public. this innovative approach to communicating science partnered scientists with artists to help distill their science into interactive booths, activities, and displays.

wildfire recovery is a major issue in colorado, with the two largest fires in the state’s history (the cameron peak and east troublesome fire) burning over 400,000 acres in 2020. even though these fires were three years ago, the path to recovery is just beginning. a recent article from the coloradoan highlighted that the intensity of these fires has caused around half of that 400,000 acres burn scar to show little to zero regrowth.

the effects of wildfire go beyond the flames and can impact water quality, cause flooding, and harm wildlife. research on these lasting impacts is being done by colorado state university (csu) organizations radical open science syndicate (ross) and geospatial centroid. these organizations want to go beyond sharing science with their fellow researchers and communicate their findings to the public in engaging ways, and that is why they developed the from burn to bloom event.

with over 300 people at the event, it was a significant success that informed the public in an uplifting fashion about wildfire recovery and how it impacts them while providing insights on how to help.

the ross specializes in watershed ecosystem science, where they use large datasets to produce actionable insights that their partners can implement. one of the ross’s most important partnerships is with the biogeochemistry lab at rocky mountain research station (rmrs), which helps the ross collect and analyze stream chemistry for some of their key study watersheds.

another exciting aspect of the ross’s work is the harmonization of water quality data (from partners like rmrs) with satellite imagery to help estimate water quality from satellites, which helps fill in data gaps. critical to their open science mission, they keep all code open and accessible, providing publically available reproducible workflows for others to use their tools.

along with being a leading voice in watershed ecosystem management, the ross wants to make science welcoming to everyone, with the goal that their work “fosters a better, just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive scientific community.”

this photo essay creates a geographically organized story using photos and interviews from the upcoming “hold our ground” soil health documentary series produced by colorado state university’s center for science communication.

to view the story in fullscreen, click here.

this story was featured in our series, slipping through our fingers: the future of water.

the only water roy pfaltzgraff has for his crops in haxtun, colorado, is what comes out of the sky, and that is not much during this mega-drought that has been devastating the west. despite extremely difficult growing conditions, pfaltzgraff still produces crops at a decent yield, in large part due to his soil health practices.

pfaltzgraff is part of colorado’s saving tomorrow’s agricultural resources (star) soil health program and is the only farmer in colorado, as of october 2022, to receive a maximum of five stars for the soil health of his fields. the outstanding soil health in his fields also impacts food quality, and pfaltzgraff is passionate about producing a quality product compared to the conventional farming focus on yield. with an associate’s degree in culinary arts, he has crafted several delicious gluten-free mixes using millet flour, corn, and other crops on his farm.

pfaltzgraff believes that it is important for people to get to know farmers and understand how food is produced. farmers and producers like pfaltzgraff will be profiled for their soil health practices in an upcoming three-part documentary series called “hold our ground,” which i am helping produce with the colorado state university center for science communication.