COOLER in June 2024

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COOLER UNCO
June 28, 2024

Check out our new COOLER Website!

TODAY is the official launch of our new COOLER Website. This website will serve as a hub for information about our new COOLER Climate Leadership Institute (COOLER CLImates), which will pilot in the ‘24-’25 school year, as well as climate change resources and updates on our activities. Check it out to learn more about our mission and our activities, and how you can get involved!

Is it summer yet?

Likely, you have not needed to ask that question. Temperatures have begun soaring in the past couple of weeks, with long days and generally dry, sunny weather. Just as our growing season in Greeley has lengthened in the past 20 years, we also see a greater number of days each year with temperatures above 90 or 100F and with nights above 60F. Fortunately, humidity generally remains low, which makes evenings comfortable, if not entirely cool.

How do you stay cool on a hot summer day? While everyone has their favorite strategies for staying cool, make staying hydrated a top priority. Drink more water than you think you need, especially in Colorado, where average relative humidity at midday can hover around 30% or lower by mid-afternoon. Also stay cool with light, loose clothing. Stay out of the sun and avoid high energy activities, if you can, from 10am-4pm.

A lot of older houses in Colorado don’t have air conditioning. If your house becomes uncomfortably warm, seek out public spaces that might be cooler, such as a library or a community recreation center. Keep the windows closed and shades drawn in your home during the day. Because the temperature usually drops into the 60’s after sunset, you can usually cool your home each night by placing a fan in a window to welcome in some cooler air.

Enjoy your summer and please keep us updated on your own challenges and successes to build resilience to climate change. We would love to help you out, and even feature your stories here in the newsletter! Email us at [email protected].

Spotlight: The COOLER Student Team!

A bit about our student team…

Now that the University of Northern Colorado’s academic year has come to a close, we must bid farewell to our graduating COOLER Student Team! Over the past couple of months, we’ve been introducing you to the students who have supported us over the past year and sharing their aspirations for making the world a better (cooler) place. This month:

Meet Environmental Studies major, Sydnee Klug!

Role in COOLER: Events Coordinator and Graphic Designer

Sydnee Klug, COOLER Events Coordinator and Graphic Designer

Sydnee Klug is a recently graduated Environmental Studies and Sustainability major at the University of Northern Colorado. Sydnee created the COOLER logo at the top of this newsletter and our COOLER Bear Mascot, and has recently designed our new website!

The COOLER Bear, created by Sydnee Klug

Sydnee grew up in a ranching town where water rights and water conservation were big issues. She saw how changes in the environment were beginning to affect people, and this motivated her interest in sustainability.

She says that one of the things that helps her be more positive about the changes we are seeing on our planet is, “The commitment of the people who do care is very inspiring and watching the effort to grow interest and create new programs like COOLER makes me very hopeful.”

She urges people to remember that, “Solving climate change isn’t an all or nothing approach. I believe that it is about small changes that can collectively help make a difference.”

Sydnee is presently working with a sustainable energy company as a GIS intern, and hopes to continue working in the sustainability field, in work that allows her to connect with community.

Activities

Upcoming opportunity for professional development and building local climate change resilience

There are lots of things brewing at COOLER! Starting in September, we will launch the COOLER Climate Leadership Institute (COOLER CLImates), a year-long professional development program with two UNCO cohorts: one for students and one for faculty. Each cohort will spend a year learning about climate, how it impacts their field of study, and how we can build local climate change resilience. There will be stipends for participation.

There will also be opportunities for local community groups to be involved, particularly those interested in working with students on projects to build climate change resilience. We invite community members working with local groups interested in building climate change resilience to join our COOLER CLImates Community Cohort (details will be posted soon on our Community webpage).

Click here for information and a link to the application for our Student COOLER-CLImates cohort.

Click here for information and a link to the application for our Faculty COOLER-CLImates cohort.

Be Sure to Join Our Ask Me Anything Social Media Events!

In our Ask Me Anything (AMA) events each month, Kennedy Dechant, COOLER student Community Manager and student environmental leader at UNC, hosts guests who share their experience working in science and/or climate change resilience. Audience members are invited to ask questions. We welcome and encourage questions that are provided in advance of the event, and these can be posted on our social media.

Our most recent session featured Katara Burrola from Voices of the Land who spoke about indigenous wisdom within land decisions during climate change.

COOLER Team Member, Kennedy Dechant, and Katara Burrola at the Facebook Ask Me Anything Event on June 20th.

Our Next Event will take place in late July - follow us on social media for more info!

Events are broadcasted live via our Facebook page, then posted on our YouTube Channel .

Join COOLER at the Greeley Farmer’s Market

Our COOLER Team wants to know your thoughts on climate change and how we can strengthen our community climate resilience. Come chat with us at the Greeley Farmer’s Market on Saturday, July 13th and Aug 10th.

We’d love to visit you and share our work!

Whether you're looking for a full-length presentation or a short talk, we are here to share insights and engage with your group on the critical topic of climate change. Email us at [email protected]!

Helpful Resource:

How will climate change impact your hometown? Climate Check  provides location-based climate risk-assessments, wherever you are in the United States. Enter your address, or city, and you will get an idea of how you are likely to be impacted into the future from heat, precipitation, drought, flooding and fire. Climate Check analyzes climate model projections of future climate to determine the likelihood and frequency of severe events in a given location.

About Us

Meet the COOLER Team:

COOLER Faculty at UNCO: Cindy Shellito (Climate Science), Sharon Bywater-Reyes (Environmental Science), Chelsie Romulo (Sustainability)

COOLER Community Activator: Arika Virapongse (Middle Path EcoSolutions)

COOLER Evaluation Consultant: Rupu Gupta (Rupu Gupta Consulting)

COOLER Student Team: Kennedy Dechant (Community Manager), Sydnee Klug (Events Coordinator and Graphic Designer), Anna Dispirito and Kyle Thoutt (incoming Community Managers)