Welcome to COOLER!

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COOLER UNCO
November 08, 2023

Welcome to COOLER!

COOLER is a U.S. National Science Foundation sponsored project at the University of Northern Colorado (UNCO) that seeks to build COmmunity COllaboration and LEarning for climate Resilience. As someone who has participated in a COOLER event or workshop, or has signed up for this newsletter directly, you are part of our community!

The COOLER Newsletter will arrive in your inbox about once a month. Each newsletter will include:

  • Latest news about COOLER activities

  • Upcoming climate-related events and opportunities supported by COOLER

  • Tips, ideas, and resources for building climate change resilience in your life, in your work, in your community

  • Short stories spotlighting COOLER community members who are finding ways to build climate resilience

We hope you will keep us updated on your own challenges and successes to build resilience to climate change.

Please email us at [email protected].

In the Spotlight: Greeley’s hot summers

Do summers feel a bit longer to you? Over the past 50 years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of days with maximum temperatures at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. While there is some variability from year to year, overall, our summers are getting warmer. This impacts how much energy we need for air conditioning, how much water we need for our lawns and gardens, and the timing of our growing season. Warmer temperatures make us increasingly vulnerable to drought.

How do we work together as a community to adapt to these changes in our climate? This is the aim of COOLER: to find ways to connect students and faculty at the University of Northern Colorado with community groups to work on projects that build our climate change resilience. 

What impacts of climate change can you expect to see in your neighborhood? Check out this resource that estimates climate risk where you live.

The warming we experience with global climate change can be overwhelming to think about on such a large scale. But we know that the most effective ways to address climate change is at home, with the actions we take in our own communities. We look forward to sharing resources with you, connecting you to others with similar concerns, working with you on projects to build our community resilience!

Fall Activities

Workshop: Teaching Climate Change Across the Disciplines

Our goal this fall is to assess the needs of the communities with whom we hope to connect. This includes UNCO faculty and students, and local community groups. We kicked off our fall activities with a workshop for faculty.

We want every student at UNCO to understand the relevance of climate change to their work and their lives, and this workshop gave instructors and opportunity to brainstorm ways to include climate change and impacts in their courses, no matter the discipline.

UNC Faculty brainstorm ways to connect climate change to diverse disciplines at a COOLER workshop.

Coming to UNCO this spring: Teaching Conversations on Climate Change Across the Disciplines

As a follow-up to our workshop this fall, we will hold a series teaching conversations on climate change this spring. This will give educators an opportunity to share ideas and challenges about introducing climate change into their courses - whatever the course may be! Stay tuned for more info!

Upcoming Events

For Students, Faculty and Community:

Climate-related events hosted by our colleagues in UNC Arts and AGES:

About Us

Meet the COOLER Team:

COOLER Faculty at UNCO: Cindy Shellito (Climate Science), Sharon Bywater-Reyes (Environmental Science), Karen Barton (Geography, Climate Change), 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), Tyler Oravec (Climate Data Analyst)