EDWARDS – Nineteen CMC students ventured into the remote Himalayan country of Bhutan in November 2018 as part of a three-week field experience. On Feb. 19, some of those students will present at CMC Vail Valley at Edwards “Learning in the Land of Happiness: Student Reflections from Bhutan,” their firsthand accounts of Bhutan’s environmental conservation, social empowerment and gross national happiness.
Bhutan measures its success via gross national happiness, or GNH, rather than the more-common gross national product, or GNP. Their constitution mandates that 60 percent of the country’s landmass be maintained and protected as forest. Additionally, Bhutan is the only carbon negative country in the world.
Several faculty from CMC have been visiting the country for years, cultivating ties that resulted in the college being invited to join the international Mountain Partnership. The Mountain Partnership falls under the aegis of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and is dedicated to preserving mountain communities through sustainable practices. This marks the first Bhutan study-abroad opportunity for CMC students.
“Learning in the Land of Happiness” will begin at 6:30 p.m. at CMC Vail Valley at Edwards, 150 Miller Ranch Road, with a reception graciously underwritten by the Cantele-Fink Family. The presentation will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and admission is free.
For more information, please contact Diana Scherr at 970-569-2966 or dscherr@coloradomtn.edu, or go to https://coloradomtn.info/event/learning-in-the-land-of-happiness-student-reflections-from-bhutan/.