Too often, conversations about climate science, change and adaptation are framed as if they are one-sided, with scientists and science educators teaching people living and taking action about climate change and potential impacts. Yet, people experience environmental changes in their everyday life, and they know their priorities, ways of living, and values. This community of practice will focus on climate change and adaptation on the ground, how people in their everyday lives and everyday work lives are experiencing, interpreting, responding and adapting to, and living with environmental change. This community of practice also focuses on the intersections among climate change, environmental change from development patterns and ways of living, and the social and economic changes that accompany environmental change or shape what actions are possible or desirable.
Our Team
First established in October 2018, the Resilience Communities team has multiple members:
Sharon Hausam (co-lead), South Central CASC
Caitlin Rottler (co-lead), South Central CASC
Renia Ehrenfeucht, University of New Mexico
Ebone Smith, University of Oklahoma
Azmal Hossan, Colorado State University
Joel Lisonbee
Marina Tomer, South Central CASC
Aaron Russell, Oklahoma State University
Newakis Weber
Stephanie Paladino, Merolek Anthropology
Our Projects
On October 18, 2022 this Community of Practice hosted a webinar entitled “How Communities Contend with Climate: Rainwater Harvesting and Restoration” with speakers Dr. Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar and Flor Sandoval.
Dr. Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar’s talk was entitled “Community Resilience to Climate Change: From Treats to Community Empowerment” and Flor Sandoval’s talk was entitled “Promoting Economic Justice in Rainwater Harvesting“.
Milestones & Next Steps for 2023
The webinar series around these themes that we began in 2022 is continuing into 2023. Future topics and speakers may include agriculture, energy resilience, culturally significant plant restoration, watershed restoration, and coastal restoration. We are also discussing how people are adapting and preserving their cultural lifeways in the face of climate change and environmental change, to contribute to a literature review coordinated one of our CoP members.
At the 2022 CASC Fall Science Meeting our CoP presented an “interactive” poster. The poster stated the CoP’s purpose, and asked four questions, geared towards research – 1) How are your research locations changing due to climate? and 2) How are you adapting your own research activities to those changes? – and for researchers as members of their own communities – 3) How is your community changing due to climate? and 4) How are people in your community adapting in their daily lives and their work? The questions help remind us and our colleagues about community contributions to knowledge and adaptation.