Climate Impacts Group

Letter from the Director – September 2026

Dear Climate Impacts Group Community:

As summer comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on growth and transformation — work and life move in cycles, just like nature. 

This summer, we hosted seven EarthLab interns who brought their passion and expertise to a variety of projects. One project with the Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change network (NW RISCC) resulted in a management brief that beautifully renders art and science to inform us about climate change impacts on ticks in the Northwest. As our interns move on to their next adventure, I continue to be grateful for CIG’s place at the university and our connection to the next generation of environmental leaders. 

Trees, Rain, Floods, and Capacity Building: Four Climate Resilience Projects In Action

Four teams of Climate Impacts Group research scientists and partners were awarded funding from the UW College of the Environment’s 2025 Collaborative Research in Earth System Science and Technology (CRESST) initiative to pursue action-oriented environmental research.

What do drilling small holes in trees, catching rain to quantify precipitation amounts, hosting community conversations on flooding, and training community college faculty on tribal co-management have in common? These are some of the ways that the UW Climate Impacts Group is conducting applied research to support the development of climate adaptation strategies.

The Fund For Science and Technology, a new foundation within the Paul G. 

Climate Adaptation Science Center Network Convenes at UW Seattle for a Week of Connection and Learning

This week, the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) hosted 50 collaborators from the National CASC and nine regional CASCs for the network’s annual meeting. Traveling from the Pacific Islands, Alaska and across the lower 48, CASC staff gathered in Seattle to connect, share lessons learned from regional and national CASC programs and areas of research, and advance efforts to evaluate and communicate the impact of the CASC program.

This meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on the strong relationships and trust across the network, which has been built over the program’s 16 years and has been key to its impact and longevity. 

We’re hiring a research scientist specializing in water management – apply by 9/27

The UW Climate Impacts Group has an outstanding opportunity for a mid-career research scientist who specializes in water management systems to join our team and play a critical role in advancing climate resilience for the Pacific Northwest.

UW Environment celebrates partnership and impact at Community-Engaged Research Symposium

The Climate Impacts Group, EarthLab, and Washington Sea Grant co-planned a community-engaged research symposium for the environment. CIG Climate Resilience Scientist Rishi Sugla was featured on a panel.