Dear RMBL Community, 

As we begin a new year, I want to start with gratitude. Thank you for the many ways you supported RMBL over the past year. Your engagement, curiosity, generosity, and partnership continue to sustain and strengthen this remarkable place. Because of you, RMBL enters 2026 with strong momentum, a clear vision, and growing excitement as we look toward our second century. 

Your support in 2025 was extraordinary. Together, we advanced science, education, and community impact across Gothic, Crested Butte, the Gunnison Valley, and beyond. From long term ecological research to hands-on place-based education and training, and from new partnerships to new year-round spaces for connection, your commitment is shaping RMBL today and preparing us for the next century. 

Supporting Our Education Programs 

Why it matters 

Education has always been central to the RMBL mission, rooted in hands on discovery in Gothic and now extended year-round through RMBL 365. From field-based learning in one of the world’s most studied high-elevation ecosystems to community centered programs in Crested Butte, our education efforts support learners at every stage. This includes K-12 students discovering science in their own backyard, undergraduates gaining hands on research experience, and graduate students and early career scientists building the skills and confidence needed for scientific leadership. 

On a personal note, I have signed my own kids up for RMBL K-12 camps, and I am excited to continue to support my kids’ transformative experiences that spark curiosity and confidence, and discovery in our kids’ young minds. This will be their 3rd year in the program, and every summer they look forward to the RMBL adventure and learning experiences. We heard incredible feedback about our education programs last year, and it is clear that these experiences matter. By embedding students directly into world class research, RMBL education programs do more than teach science. They cultivate critical thinking, collaboration, and a deep understanding of how knowledge is created. Your support ensures these opportunities remain accessible, impactful, and deeply connected to the science taking place at RMBL. 

Supporting RMBL Science 

Why it matters 

RMBL is home to one of the best studied high elevation ecosystems in the world. The long-term research conducted here provides critical insight into ecological change, climate patterns, and environmental resilience. Because these studies span decades, they offer rare and invaluable perspectives that inform science locally, across Colorado, and globally. 

This science also helps us understand what we are experiencing in real time. Many of us found ourselves skiing in garbage bags on Christmas Day because of rain instead of snow – this included my family (see picture below). That experience connects directly to the kind of data and stories emerging from RMBL research. Our first Après Science talk of the year, on January 30 from 5:30-6:30pm, will explore exactly this question through the lens of long-term weather station data from Crested Butte and Gothic, asking what these records tell us about how climate has been changing since 1910. Check out billy barr’s website of Gothic weather here!

This work matters not only for advancing knowledge, but for informing land management, conservation, policy, and public understanding in a changing world. Your support helps ensure that RMBL remains a place where careful, long-term science continues, grounded in community, and connected to global challenges. 

RMBL 365 

Why it matters 

RMBL began in Gothic, grounded in hands-on field science that continues to guide how we grow and connect people to discovery. That field-based work remains our foundation and our guide. Today, through RMBL 365, we are carrying that same spirit beyond the summer field season and into every month of the year, creating new ways for people to gather, learn, and engage with science that is rooted in Gothic and connected to our broader community. 

Your support also made possible one of the most transformative acquisitions in recent RMBL history, RMBL 365. More than a building, RMBL 365 is a year-round hub for science, education, and community connection in Crested Butte, expanding our mission into our next century. It extends the spirit of Gothic beyond the summer field season and brings people together throughout the year. 

RMBL 365 is already becoming a gathering place for our community and beyond; Après Science talks, the RMBL Reads book club, retreats, workshops, K-12 educational opportunities for local students, and strategic conversations that connect local and global perspectives. We have heard repeatedly from nonprofit and community leaders about the need for more shared space to convene, collaborate, and learn together. RMBL 365 is helping meet that need by bringing scientists, educators, students, artists, and community members together around shared questions rooted in place. 

Support That Made 2025 Possible 

Why it matters 

The support RMBL received in 2025 was both broad and deeply impactful. 

The RMBL General Operating Fund continues to be the organization’s backbone, sustaining long-term research, field operations, and the vibrant scientific community that returns year after year. 

Support for RMBL 365 enabled the purchase and activation of a space that expands our reach and relevance year-round, supporting science, education, and community impact in Crested Butte. 

Educational and science-focused endowments are strengthening opportunities for students at every stage, from K-12 learners to early career scientists. 

Capital support for place in Gothic is helping maintain, improve, and build the infrastructure that makes long term field science possible in this extraordinary environment. 

Together, these investments are reinforcing the foundation of RMBL while allowing us to grow with intention. 2025 was one of the strongest years of support RMBL has experienced in nearly a decade, and we are deeply grateful to our community for advancing our mission and strategic plan. 

Looking Ahead 

Why it matters 

As we move into 2026, we do so with optimism and purpose. RMBL is a place where careful science, long-term data, and deep relationships with place create knowledge that truly matters. With your continued partnership, we will keep advancing discovery, expanding education, and strengthening community impact as we prepare for our Centennial and beyond. 

Thank you for being part of this community and for all that you do to support RMBL. I am grateful for your partnership and excited for what lies ahead as we move forward together. 

With Gratitude,
Jeni Blacklock, PhD