Climate Preparedness Week Events

Monday, September 26th Events:

Extreme Heat and Preparing Communities to Respond to Extreme Heat

Join CREW and GreenRoots for a virtual event that will focus on the challenges that extreme heat poses to communities. We will include in the discussion about the C-HEAT Project that GreenRoots is leading. We will delve into the project and how the project has enlightened residents in the East Boston and Chelsea Communities about extreme heat. Speakers: Dr. Madeleine Scammell and Bianca Bowman

Monday 9/26, 4:00pm - 5:00pm CST; Register for this event here

Climate Change 101: What You Need to Know

Climate change does not have to be complicated or intimidating. In this presentation, Dr. Carsten Braun, a Geography, Planning, and Sustainability professor at Westfield State University, will review the science of climate change, discuss the impacts of climate change, and then explore practical solutions to climate change that are available right here, right now. Suitable for adults and older teens. This presentation is part one of a three-part Saving Us! - Working Toward Climate Resilience series. Parts two and three will be held October 3 and October 17, respectively. 

Monday 9/26, 6:00pm - 7:00pm CST; Register for this event here

Tuesday, September 27th Event:

Climate Change – Are You Prepared? Presentation From 2 UMass Scientists

Professors Tom Shea and Jarrod Hayes from UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative will be discussing the impacts of global warming and how we can be prepared for climate change.

Tuesday 9/27 5:30pm - 6:30pm CST; Register for this event here

Wednesday, September 28th Event:

Intersections of Climate Change: How the U.S. Can Stand in Solidarity with Cuba

CREW will be joined by Jessica Fernandez Casañas, head of the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba! Ms. Fernandez will discuss the Republic of Cuba's plan for climate mitigation and resilience, and then have a Q&A about how people in the United States can look forward and create cooperative relationships with the people of Cuba as the impacts of climate change are felt all around the world. This event is being co-sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action. There will be a Spanish interpreter present at the event.

Wednesday 9/28, 5:30pm - 7:00pm CST; Register for this event here

Thursday, September 29th Events:

The Challenges of Communicating Climate Risk

Fondren Library's Green Team and the Leventhal Map & Education Center present a conversation about the challenges of communicating climate risks and impacts in two different geographic contexts. Rice professor and Houston-based author Lacy M. Johnson will discuss her new book, More City Than Water: A Houston Flood Atlas, and the process of working with graphic designers to produce maps that document Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Houston. Based in Boston, Zoe Davis works for the City of Boston as a Climate Resilience Project Manager on the Climate Ready Boston team, which informs local climate planning and helps residents visualize and prepare for the impacts of future climate risks. The conversation will help explore what’s at stake when communicating about climate change, whether as a historical record of a past disaster or as part of future-focused public policy. 

Thursday 9/29, 3:00pm - 4:00pm CST; Register for this event here

Climate Justice - Addressing the Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change

Nia Keith, of Mass Audubon, will discuss the connection between societal inequities and climate impacts. Nia will share some of the most dynamic climate justice initiatives today, led by youth and People of Color around the world, and discuss ways we can all take climate action in our communities and beyond.

Thursday 9/29, 6:00pm - 7:00pm CST; Register for this event here

Extreme Weather with the Mount Washington Observatory 

Join the Somerville Public Library and scientists from the Mount Washington Observatory for a conversation on meteorology and the extreme weather they are studying. Find out who these intrepid scientists are, how they collect data, and how they translate it into information we can use. Additionally we will learn about how climate change is impacting what they are studying.

Thursday 9/29, 2022, 6:00pm - 7:00pm CST; Register for this event here

Friday, September 30th Event:

Mental Health in a Changing Climate

From the eco-anxiety or climate grief that grows by watching the climate crisis continue year after year, to the daily stress and trauma experienced by people living through extreme weather events - one of the impacts of our changing climate that is often ignored because of its invisibility is the toll it takes on our mental health. Join CREW in this hybrid event, held in person at the Somerville Community Baptist Church and online on Zoom. The event will begin as a series of short talks and Q&A’s with Dr. Jim Recht of Climate Code Blue and other mental health professionals, discussing the different ways these mental health effects can manifest, as well as strategies to cope with and move through stresses brought on by extreme weather and climate chaos. They will be followed by exercises led by Jenny Bonham-Carter and other guest speakers to practice grounding ourselves and connecting with each other, helping find the strength that will keep ourselves and our communities resilient in the face of disruption and extreme weather.

Friday 9/30, 4:30pm - 5:45pm CST; Register for this event here