Climate Impacts Group

NCRC and partners to pilot groundbreaking co-production method

Building resilience to climate change requires many diverse areas of expertise, experiences and knowledge. Though they have historically been marginalized from climate preparedness efforts, people of color, Indigenous peoples, people with lower incomes and people whose lives depend on natural resources — known collectively as “frontline communities” — have innovative solutions for building resilience to climate change impacts. 

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative and partners are piloting a groundbreaking method for elevating first-hand experiences and visions of climate resilience and solutions, with the goal of incorporating community knowledge into efforts to prepare for climate impacts. Partnering with the documentary storytelling organization Tikkun Olam Productions and the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation program, a trans-disciplinary research team will record the oral histories of frontline communities facing flooding and other climate change impacts. 

Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative releases second annual report

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative is pleased to share the results of our last year of work advancing the climate resilience priorities of frontline communities! 

A few highlights from the report include:  

Partnering with Oregon Rural Action. Our Rural Resilience Portfolio is partnering with Oregon Rural Action to support their coordination and editorial input on research products and their efforts to connect our researchers with the community.
Conducting Tribal Listening Sessions in Oregon and Washington. Our Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio has conducted five listening sessions with a total of 33 participants, representing 20 Northwest coastal Tribes.
Developing a Climate Justice summer program.

Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative Announces Community Grant Awardees

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative is thrilled to announce the five awardees of the Community Grants Program. Community Grants fund justice-focused, environmental and climate projects that advance community-centered resilience priorities. These one-year grants support nonprofits, community organizations and Tribes from Washington, Idaho and Oregon. 

More than 40 organizations submitted letters of intent and nearly 20 organizations were invited to submit full applications. Applications were reviewed by a group of UW faculty and community experts independent of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. They were evaluated based on their relevance to climate and environmental justice and impact on frontline communities. Learn more about the organizations and their projects: 

Black Star Farmers 

Location: Seattle, Wash. 

Now Hiring: Climate Justice Research Scientist

Are you passionate about the environment and social justice? Do you want to pursue a career centered around the theory and practice of climate justice and resilience? Are you interested in pursuing creative work that centers the needs and goals of frontline communities? If yes, apply today to be the next Climate Impacts Group Climate Justice Research Scientist!

The Climate Justice Research Scientist will support and expand our social science, policy, governance and project management capabilities across various climate change adaptation projects, with an emphasis on projects in collaboration with frontline communities. Many of these projects will be part of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, a NOAA-funded research program housed at the Climate Impacts Group. 

UW Undergrads: Join our team with a paid internship!

The Climate Impacts Group is seeking an intern to support several interrelated projects as part of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. The intern will join EarthLab’s Summer Internship Program, a robust, cohort-based internship program for UW undergraduate students.

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative Intern will help to create a month-long summer program that builds cohorts and networks of early career researchers passionate about climate justice. This program will focus on capacity-building work with programs that connect students with frontline organizations to build capacity for justice-centered climate resilience; supporting frontline organizations to build a matching program that will provide staffing support to increase capacity of organizations to self-organize on climate resilience; conducting research to understand the knowledge and practice of community-driven adaptation for frontline communities and organizations; and co-producing curriculum and workshops with student groups to aid in the development of educational modules for the summer school. 

Register today for Resilience Collaborative Community Grants Program informational webinar

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative invites you to register for our Community Grants Program informational webinar! The webinar will be held virtually on Friday, January 20, from noon-1 p.m. PT. Registration is required.  We will briefly discuss the objectives of the Community Grants Program, outline the steps to complete an application and provide a time for questions.

REGISTER

The Community Grants Program, now in its first year, supports justice-focused, environmental and climate projects that advance community-centered resilience priorities. Grants range from $5,000-$50,000.  Nonprofits, community organizations and Tribes in Washington, Idaho and Oregon that serve frontline communities are eligible to apply. 

NW Resilience Collaborative launches Community Grants Program

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative is accepting applications for funding of climate resilience projects through its Community Grants Program. The Resilience Collaborative, a program of the Climate Impacts Group, seeks to fund justice-focused, environmental and climate projects that advance community-centered resilience priorities. Nonprofits, community organizations and Tribes in Washington, Idaho and Oregon that serve frontline communities are eligible to apply. Letters of Interest for the Community Grants are due February 28, 2023. 

An informational webinar for potential applicants will be held virtually on Friday, January 20, from noon-1 p.m. Registration is required.

Grants can support projects on a range of topics, including capacity-building, developing resilience plans, implementing and evaluating resilience strategies, documenting climate and environmental impacts and more. 

Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative shares first annual report

The Climate Impacts Group is pleased to share the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative’s progress with our first annual report! 

A few highlights from the report include:  

The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio has collaboratively aggregated available climate plans and assessments for 31 individual coastal tribes, as well as plans that focus on multiple tribes. The team, led by Jackson Blalock, Washington Sea Grant, is analyzing the data for content such as specific needs or barriers, existing capabilities, opportunities for collaboration, specific climate adaptation or mitigation actions, potential funding programs, cultural context, and more. 
The Rural Resilience Portfolio has built on work with Chelan County by providing an analysis of socioeconomic data, supporting two local non-profits, and helping to establish a Science Advisory Committee for Chelan County.

Welcoming two new team members to support NW Climate Resilience Collaborative

We are excited to share progress on the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, including two new hires to support the program and a newly-launched web presence! The Resilience Collaborative is a program housed at the Climate Impacts Group that brings together 10 community and academic partners and is funded by a grant from NOAA.

Drs. Rishi Sugla and Zackery Thill joined the Climate Impacts Group earlier this month, and will be primarily focused on supporting the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. Sugla will bring thought leadership and coordination to the Resilience Collaborative as he advances the theory and practice of climate services provision to frontline communities. 

NW Climate Resilience Collaborative

Ten nonprofit, community and university groups have banded together in a new Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. The project will advance the efforts of frontline communities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana to adapt to climate change.