ICLEI USA launched the Colorado Resilience Engine (CORE) Internship Program with dual goals: 1) building capacity among Colorado local governments and 2) training the next generation of resilience leaders. With support from the CO-WY Ascend Engine, Innosphere, the National Science Foundation, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the program placed five graduate-level interns with local governments across Colorado. Each host community identified a real-world resilience challenge that would become their interns’ project for the next 6 to 8 months. Learn more about these projects – and how the CORE interns are contributing to local disaster readiness, sustainability, and climate action efforts – in this blog series.
Telluride
Tucked in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Telluride is as famous for its alpine scenery as it is for the annual Bluegrass Festival that draws music lovers from around the globe. Against the backdrop of mountain peaks and cultural festivals, the community is also charting a path toward a more sustainable future.
This summer, ICLEI USA CORE intern Danniel Tigreros is supporting the Town of Telluride in advancing high-impact strategies from its 2022 Climate Action Plan, with a focus on community well-being, resilience, natural systems, and water. Right now, his top priorities are laying the groundwork for Telluride’s Farm to Community pilot program, which will connect residents with fresh, local produce at a subsidized cost for 14 weeks during the 2026 summer season. The program takes inspiration from a similar effort in the neighboring Town of Mountain Village, which has served as a model for Telluride as it explores how this initiative could best meet local needs. To prepare, Danniel is designing a bilingual (English and Spanish) community survey to communicate the program’s goals, assess feasibility, and gauge resident interest. He is also exploring grant opportunities to subsidize costs and is building partnerships with local institutions, such as the high school for storage and the food pantry, to receive unclaimed shares. Beyond the Community Supported Agriculture, Danniel is contributing to grant applications that will support planned resilience, climate action, and sustainability initiatives, while also beginning research on how the program could serve as an entry point for broader partnerships around resilience hubs.
Even while working remotely, Danniel has found ways to connect meaningfully with the town he’s serving. “While remote, I am happy to have been able to connect with community members who share the vision for a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient Telluride,” he said. “Their insights have helped me understand how to serve a community I am not able to physically be in.”
Looking ahead, Danniel is eager to see the pilot program take root and help bring fresh, local, and resilient food options to the community. He is also watching closely for news on a major grant decision that could open new doors for program implementation.
For Telluride, Danniel’s contributions bring added capacity to move its climate plan forward. For Danniel, being part of CORE is building the practical experience needed for future roles in sustainability and public service.
