Greener Pastures

Climate change is having a big impact on Colorado’s rural mountain communities. The job markets there are evolving to keep up. Greener Pastures is a three-part KUNC News series about building this climate workforce.

An image of a classroom taken from the back of the room. Several students sit at desks facing a projection screen. On the left side of the image the wall is covered with exposed piping and mechanical equipment

News

The latest climate solution for rural Colorado? Career education in the skilled trades

Higher education is teaming up with skilled trade industries in Colorado’s High Country to grow the rural climate workforce of tomorrow.

A young man in a button down work shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat stands in a pasture on a bright sunny day. He looks off into the distance on the left. Mountains rise behind him in the distance

News

Climate adaptation is on the curriculum for future farmers and ranchers in Colorado and beyond

An apprenticeship program in Colorado and the Mountain West teaches agriculture students to farm and ranch for more extreme weather.

Geothermal driller Billy Baker, with Bedrock Energy, considers the company's specialized drill rig at a test site in Eagle Lake Texas, on October 10, 2025. Like Billy, many geothermal drillers are recruited from the oil and gas industry. But a proliferation of geothermal projects on the horizon could outstrip the available skilled workforce.

News

Colorado wants to build more geothermal energy networks. But it needs to build the workforce first

A Colorado coal town’s big geothermal dreams say a lot about the region's shifting job market.