Coordinating Climate Outreach in the Great Lakes Region
Great Lakes Regional Water Program Initiative Proposal
February, 2011
Initiative Leaders: Joe Bonnell, Rebecca Power, Lois Wolfson
Participating Land-grant Institutions: The Ohio State University, the University of
Wisconsin, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, and Purdue University
Other Partners: NOAA, River Network, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, Old
Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve
Situation and Need
Communities across the upper Great Lakes states are looking for ways to become more “green”
or “sustainable” and concurrently meet the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate
change. When it comes to water, these efforts focus on planning and developing new
infrastructure to beautify communities, creates jobs, and enhance ecosystem services, such as
flood protection, water infiltration, and pollutant reduction. Researchers, educators, and
community organizers are expanding capacity to meet these needs. However, networks of
knowledge generators, educators, and knowledge users in the climate arena are still young and
developing. Primary generators of research, education, and outreach products associated with
this initiative include the land-grant universities, non-governmental organizations such as River
Network, state agencies, NOAA, and other federal agencies. Primary users of this information
will include planners, stormwater managers, consultants working with local governments, parks
staff, local elected officials, state agency staff dealing with water resource issues, and local
watershed organizations. Users may have responsibilities in both rural and developed landscapes.
Goals, Desired Outcomes, and Deliverables
The Great Lakes Regional Water Program can serve our states and municipalities most
effectively by providing research, education, and outreach services to support decision-making at
various levels. Initiative goals mirror those of the National Research Council Committee on the
Human Dimensions of Global Change goals for decision support efforts. In particular, this
initiative will:
1. Increase usefulness of research and educational programs associated with green
infrastructure, water infrastructure, and climate change adaptation;
2. Improve relationships between knowledge generators and users; and
3. Ultimately, enable better decisions by knowledge users.
More specifically, this initiative will accomplish the following:
1. Develop a multi-state climate education team focused on inland*, developed
landscapes.
The team will include land-grant Extension educators, Sea Grant Extension staff (as appropriate)
and other trained outreach professionals who work with local community decision-makers in the
Great Lakes region. Draft list:
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Land-grant Extension reps
Sea Grant Extension reps
Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
River Network
Climate scientist(s)
Other scientists engaged in work that would inform climate adaptation outreach (I
know this is a broad statement, but wanted to open up discussion)
Others?
2. Draft core competencies for community outreach professionals.
The team will utilize the NOAA Laurentian Great Lakes Basin Climate Change Adaptation
Needs Assessment, the NOAA “Great Lakes Climate Adaptation Training Options” documents,
and other existing resources to develop a preliminary description of core competencies. Draft
core competencies would be vetted through the NOAA Great Lakes Region Collaboration Team,
the land-grant Extension North Central Region Task Force for Sustainable Communities, and . .
.? Core competencies would be finalized by August 2012 and shared with Extension systems
across the North Central Region.
3. Assess the current capacity of land-grant and Sea Grant Extension educators to
develop and implement climate adaptation education and outreach programs in
developed landscapes, including providing information on green infrastructure and
water infrastructure. This would be done through a short, region-wide survey.
4. Expand and coordinate web-based and distance learning resources related to climate
adaptation, green infrastructure, and water infrastructure
OH and MI text here . . .
Coordinate with River Network’s Blue Cities efforts in Dane County, Wisconsin and the Clinton
River watershed in southeastern Michigan. River Network will be engaging communities in
conversations about green infrastructure analyses that address climate adaptation issues (e.g.
energy use, greenhouse gas reduction, heat island reduction, water conservation, efficiency,
reuse, and supply augmentation). Web-based and distance learning resources would be shared
with communities as part of River Network’s outreach efforts. Local Extension educators will
be engaged to support educational efforts.
Climate workshops and web-based trainings and materials will be used to build awareness of
research and decision-support tools/processes that are supported by initiative partners and others.
Examples of partner contributions and strengths include: