Adapting Your Work to Climate Change: Freshwater Future’s Spring Climate Symposium
May 10-12, 2012 • Buffalo, NY
Overview
Climate change doesn’t mean that you have to panic or close your eyes and pretend it isn’t happening. This workshop is designed to provide an understanding of the basic approaches and tools to begin to incorporate climate change into your existing conservation efforts. We will explore key concepts in adaptation; approaches to communicating about climate change; and available tools and resources to help you move forward. The session will also include a climate change clinic in which participants will start applying adaptation principles to their own conservation project ideas.
Participants should be prepared to briefly describe their own work. Come ready to brainstorm, leave ready to act.
Note: We are still finalizing the Freshwater Future/EcoAdapt Climate Adaptation Workbook, and will post a PDF version when it’s finalized. Keep an eye on this site!
Agenda & Speakers
Presentations
- Adapting Your Work to Climate Change: A Framework , Lara Hansen, EcoAdapt Chief Scientist and Executive Director
- Climate Change Impacts in the Great Lakes, Jennie Hoffman, EcoAdapt Senior Scientist and Director of Program
- Making a Project Climate Savvy vs. Developing a Climate-focused Project, Lara Hansen, EcoAdapt Chief Scientist and Executive Director
- Communicating about Climate Change, Jennie Hoffman, EcoAdapt Senior Scientist and Director of Program
- Tools and Resources for Climate Adaptation Work , Lara Hansen, EcoAdapt Chief Scientist and Executive Director
Facilitators
- Ann Baughman, Freshwater Future
- Jennie Hoffman, EcoAdapt
- Julie O'Leary, Freshwater Future
- Lara Hansen, EcoAdapt
Reading & Resources
Note: Items with * indicates resources mentioned during the workshop
Basic Climate Change Information
- Climate Savvy: Adapting Conservation and Resource Management to a Changing World. Hansen, L.J. and J.R. Hoffman. 2010. Island Press.
- Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. United States Global Change Research Program. 2009.
Great Lakes Region-specific information
- Climate Ready Great Lakes Training Modules- Great source of information on impacts, adaptation, and tools. Includes lots of powerpoint slides; full resource book to come soon!
- Improving the Odds: Using Climate-Readiness Planning to Reduce the Impacts of Climate Change on the Great Lakes Ecosystem. National Wildlife Federation. 2010.
- *Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region. Union of Concerned Scientists: 2003 series, including solutions documents and 2009, impacts studies
- Great Lakes Restoration & the Threat of Global Warming. Dempsey, D., J. Elder, and D. Scavia. 2008. A Report by the Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition
- Climate change and water quality in the Great Lakes region: Risks, opportunities, and responses. Mortsch, L., M. Alden and J. Scheraga. 2003.
Climate Communication and Education
- *The Psychology of Climate Change Communication. Center for Research on Environmental Decisions. 2010. Columbia University.
- *Storytelling as Best Practice Video of Andy Goodman describing how non-profits can use storytelling for effective communication
- Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences. U.S. Global Change Research Program. 2009.
- Global Warming’s Sixe Americas. Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. There are a series of related reports over a period of several years.
Climate Change Adaptation Guides
- Canadian Communities' Guidebook for Adaptation to Climate Change. Bizikova L., T. Neale and I. Burton. 2008
- Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional, and State Governments ICLEI, King County, and the Climate Impacts Group. 2007
Some Useful Web Sites
- *NOAA’s Digital Coast. Provides tools, training, data, and case histories of how these tools have been used for climate adaptation and other coastal management issues.
- *NOAA Climate Services Good source of all kinds of climate change information
- Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts Good source for regional information and resources, including climate projections.
- *Great Lakes Integrated Science and Assessment GLISA’s focus is linking climate science for the Great Lakes and users of that science. Housed at University of Michigan/Michigan State University
- *Climate Central. Provides a variety of research and information on communicating climate change to a range of audiences
- *Climate Access. Facilitates peer-to-peer exchange of information and experience related to communicating about climate change.