The community is invited to explore Colorado’s rich water heritage in an evening with Greg Hobbs, former Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. The lecture, “The History, Culture and Poetry of Water” will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019 in Adams State University McDaniel Hall, room 101. The event is free and open to the public.
Hobbs, who practiced law for 23 years with an emphasis on water, environment, land use and transportation, was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 1996. He is now the Distinguished Jurist in Residence and Co-Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. He also serves as a Senior Water Judge for the Colorado Courts and is assigned to the mediation of water cases.
In addition to authoring many articles, books and water related decisions while serving on Colorado’s highest court, Hobbs is also well known for his poetry, which evokes the beauty, culture, history and human relationship to water. His book, “Colorado, Mother of Rivers: Water Poems,” has over 200 poems, written over a span of 40 years. For Hobbs, poetry is a powerful and simple way to convey and summarize the complex interactions of nature, engineering, science, history, culture and water.
“I like to use poetry because it helps to communicate the rhythm of the landscape, of the people and the creatures—and we’re all water creatures.” he says. “That’s why we identify so much with the water. And why must we continue to earn our most notable distinction: Colorado, Mother of Rivers!”
The Adams State University Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center is hosting the presentation as part of its new Water Education Initiative. They aim to bring relevant and useful information to Adams State’s students and faculty and the local community about critical issues related to water in the San Luis Valley, its past and current management, and community-based approaches to sustainable water use for the future. Many of the talks are being recorded and are available for viewing on the Adams State YouTube channel, under the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center’s playlist.
Parking for this free event is available in the parking lot on 1st St., east of McDaniel Hall, open to the public after 5 p.m. For more information, contact Rio de la Vista, Director of the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center, at 719-850-2255 or riodelavista@adams.edu.
