Dear COOLER friends,

We hope you all have been enjoying the fall! We have some big news that we’re excited to share.

In September, we launched our first COOLER Climate Leadership Institute (COOLER CLImates), an 8-month-long professional development program with three cohorts: one for UNCO students, one for faculty, and one for representatives from local community organizations. Each cohort will spend a year learning about climate, how it impacts their work or field of study, and how we can build local climate change resilience. As part of the program, they’ll also be working on self-led collaborative projects. We look forward to sharing more updates about what they’re working on soon!

Learn more about the members of the 2024-2025 CLImates cohort here.

COOLER Activities

Launching CLImates has been our biggest project over the past few months. But we’ve also been connecting with the broader community in other ways. Here are some activities and events where you may have seen us:

Tabling at the Farmer’s Market: Aug 10 at the Greeley Farmer’s Market: We had a table here and asked people to participate in our survey about their feelings on climate change. The results? Around 30 people noted these feelings: Alarmed (12 people), Concerned (8), Cautious (4), Disengaged (0), Doubtful (2), Dismissive (4).

Aug 23 - Ask Me Anything event with Jerry Schwindt, ”Ask me Anything: Organic gardening, Soil care, and Environmental Education”. Catch the replay on our Facebook page or YouTube Channel.

Sep 22 - NoCo Climate Meet Up in 12pm-5 pm Centennial park, Loveland

Oct 4-6 - Energy & Environment Leadership Symposium where COOLER helped organize a UNCO Alumni Panel as well as a session on Weather and Climate

Oct 19 - COOLER had a booth at the collaborative event, “Where the River Flows: A Day of Discovery at the Poudre River”. Find out more about the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed’s reforestation and resilience projects as well as City of Greeley’s River Restoration plans. There is still time to fill out their survey!

Oct 25 - Ask Me Anything event with Stephanie Spindler, “Ask Me Anything: Craftivism, Climate Change, and Embodied Agency”. Catch the replay on our Facebook page or YouTube Channel.

Upcoming COOLER Community events (more info and events on our event’s calendar)

Nov 9 - 6-9pm - Four Elements Community Event organized by: Voices of the Land, Indigenous Corporation 5280 and Jose Longoria 1029 8th Ave, Greeley, CO 80631, USA. This is a free, public event. RSVP here with this form

Nov 12 - ClimateCon! in Fort Collins will be an engaging and unforgettable day focused on sustainable solutions to combat climate change. Public but requires purchasing a ticket https://climatecon.world/

Nov 19 - 6-7pm - Climate Conversations: Climate & Economic Growth by Citizens' Climate Lobby
LINC Library, 501 8th Ave, Greeley, CO 80631, USA
All are welcome at this free event!

By Genevieve Hankins, CLImates community manager

In each newsletter, we’ll be highlighting a few of our CLImates cohort members so you can get to know them a little better.

Ellie Andrews

Organizations Cohort

What brought you to the COOLER CLImates program?

“A sense of urgency regarding climate action, the knowledge that action must be collaborative in order to be effective.”

What is one change you would like to see in the Greeley community?

“More widespread engagement--when I go to meetings of people concerned about climate in this general region, very few ever seem to be from Greeley / Weld. Less support of the oil and gas industry, and a recognition that, despite the benefits they bring, the harm they bring to this community and to the wider world is much greater. Growth in numbers and political power of people to match the political power of the oil and gas industry. Tangible results like setbacks, phase-out dates, plugging orphan wells, etc. Less lawn in both private and public areas. More shade in open air public spaces (e.g., playgrounds, downtown) through trees or shade cloths. Less sprawl in all directions. Whatever it takes to clean up the layer of smog between here and the mountains. I wish I could see them but clear days are so rare.”

What is your favorite local outdoor space?

“A spot on the Poudre near the Kodak trailhead where my kids can throw rocks in the river.”

What is a project you are currently working on or are excited about?

“350.org's Clean Air Project [and] Climate Conversations with the Citizens Climate Lobby.”

What is something you are looking forward to in the coming year?

“Teaching an Energy Futures class in the spring…converting more of my lawn to wildflowers…[and] building a network of home composters if anyone in COOLER wants to help.”

______________________

Eryn Kelly

Student Cohort

What brought you to the COOLER CLImates program?

“I am super interested in community work and teaching people around me about things in the scientific world. Climate change is super relevant for daily life, and affects everyone around us. This program will allow me to have the opportunity to work with interested community members on this topic.”

What is one change you would like to see in the Greeley community?

“I think it is important to have conversations with the community about how they can live a more sustainable life.”

What is your favorite local outdoor space?

“Anywhere on UNC campus!”

What is a project you are currently working on or are excited about?

“I currently am not working on a specific project, but I am excited to see the interdisciplinary projects through this program.”

What is something you are looking forward to in the coming year?

“I'm looking forward to gaining some of the college experiences that come with living on campus, and to succeed in my first year of college.”

Funding Opportunities

• NACCHO Voice The Essential Elements of Local Public Health Request for Applications: Climate and Health Demonstration Sites (2024-2025) NACCHO, with support from the Climate and Health Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), intends to award up to two (2) entities for up to $16,000 each.

• EJ4Climate: Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience - The EJ4Climate Grant Program provides funding directly to community-based organizations and seeks to support environmental justice by facilitating the involvement and empowerment of communities searching for solutions and the development of partnerships to address their environmental and human health vulnerabilities, including those due to climate change impacts.

• Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program

  Community Change Grants: Environmental and Climate Justice - U.S. Environmenta Protection Agency OPEN UNTIL NOVEMBER 21, 2024!

  EPA’s new Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds in environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges.

Cool Tools

State of Colorado has a Health Equity Dashboard and Air Quality Equity Tool and EnviroScreen Tool. You can consider how factors such as ethnicity, income, health, and environmental and climate factors intersect in different locations.

Meet the COOLER Team:

COOLER Directors and UNCO faculty: Cindy Shellito (Principal), Sharon Bywater-Reyes, Chelsie Romulo

COOLER Community Director: Arika Virapongse (Middle Path EcoSolutions)

COOLER Evaluation Director: Rupu Gupta (Rupu Gupta Consulting)

COOLER Community Managers & UNCO Student Team: Anna Dispirito, Kyle Thoutt, Genevieve Hankins