Mission
To develop ecological stewards through education and adventure.
Our History
1997 – Catamount Institute was born as a private foundation in 1997 when Colorado College professors Julie Francis and Howard Drossman purchased 177 acres of the old YMCA Catamount Ranch on the north slope of Pikes Peak near Woodland Park and created a mountain campus dedicated to ecological stewardship, research, education, and leadership.
2001 – Seeing the need for environmental education in the more urban areas of the region, Catamount Institute moved part of the operations into a shared office in downtown Colorado Springs with The Nature Conservancy.
2002 – Catamount Institute received the Colorado Environmental Education Best New Program Award for its Young Environmental Stewards Club (YES Club).
2004 – Catamount Institute moved to its current location at the Beidleman Environmental Center in the 100 acre Sondermann Park. Catamount Institute received the El Pomar Award for Excellence the same year.
2006 – Catamount Institute became a public charity nonprofit corporation, while the mountain campus continued to operate as a private foundation under the new name of Catamount Center.
2008 – Catamount Institute begins hosting the Colorado Sustainability Conference (then known as the Southern Colorado Sustainability Conference)
2009 – Catamount Institute starts a business program called the Pikes Peak Sustainable Business Network to promote the triple bottom line, People-Planet-Profit, while continuing to expand its award-winning youth education programs.
2011 – Catamount Institute wins the Palmer Land Trust Stewardship Award for its youth education programs to include field trips, camps, and after-school clubs.
Today – We serve over seven thousand youth and adults each year at schools, parks, camps, and business locations all over the Pikes Peak region. We use innovative research, current events, and lessons (consistent with Colorado Department of Education Science Standards) to fulfill our mission, and encourage people to think about their relationship to the environment.