Tag: resilience

Tufts Community Resilience Building Workshop

June 12, 2018 / / 17 Comments

In 2016, Tufts University’s President Anthony Monaco signed the Second Nature Climate Commitment on behalf of the university. The Commitment integrates two critical components of climate leadership: carbon neutrality and climate resilience. One stipulation of the Commitment is for the university to complete a campus-community resilience assessment.

While climate change mitigation strategies aimed to reduce carbon emissions are often emphasized, it is equally important to consider how communities can plan for the predicted impacts of climate change.  In addition, due to recent events such as Tropical Storm Irene and Sandy, there is a heightened sense of urgency within our local and regional communities to increase resilience and adapt to extreme weather events.

In order to advance the Climate Commitment goals and address concerns that the Tufts community has regarding natural and climate-related hazards, Tufts University hosted a Community Resilience Building Workshop for the Medford/Somerville campus. The workshop took place on May 3rd, and was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy.

Picture from the resilience building workshop, attendees listening to speaker

Source: Adam Whelchel/TNC

Community Resilience Building workshops help municipalities and institutions create an opportunity for their community to to gather and plan proactively for potential emergencies. This is an important step towards climate adaptation and community capacity-building to deal with a changing climate.

The Tufts University Core Team that helped prepare for and organize this workshop included Tina Woolston from the Office of Sustainability, Geoff Bartlett and Matt Hart from the Department of Public and Environmental Safety Emergency Management Unit, as well as two Tufts students, Emma Conroy and Sophie Lehrenbaum.

Around 60 Tufts and surrounding community members attended the workshop, including representatives from various Tufts groups such as Facilities, Finance, Health Services, Construction, Public and Environmental Health and Safety, as well as undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, representatives from the City of Medford’s Office of Energy and Environment and Office of Public Health, the City of Somerville’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency were also present.

The full day event started with an overview of climate change impacts in the Northeast, the top 4 potential climate related hazards as identified during a recent Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment undertaken by the Department of Public and Environmental Health and Safety, and an introduction to the resources that would be discussed during the next portion of the event. These resources included maps of the campus, the existing hazard mitigation plan, information on the number of days over 90 degrees and flooding, as well as maps depicting natural disasters that have affected the area.

Source: Adam Whelchel/TNC

Attendees were then broken up into five groups, and through a facilitated process, discussed the existing vulnerabilities and strengths of the campus, and prioritized concrete actions that could be taken. As a part of this process, each group illustrated where they thought vulnerable areas and potential hazards were located on top of a base map of the university.

One group’s illustration of hazards on the Medford/Somerville campus (Source: Adam Whelchel/TNC)

While all groups recognized that Tufts, along with its host cities, already has many strengths and assets that will help in emergency situations, many recommendations were made on how Tufts could better prepare for such events through longer term, comprehensive planning.

Some of the top priorities for action by the Medford/Somerville campus community that came out of the workshop were:

  1. Human Welfare – supporting students and employees during an emergency
  2. Infrastructure – utilities, stormwater, and continuity planning and upgrades
  3. Food – food supply, distribution, and storage during an emergency

Community-based actions towards adapting to the predicted impacts of climate change can lead to planning and preparation that meets the specific needs of the community and the local landscape. In addition, it helps empower community members to take charge and prepare for some of the climate-related challenges we currently face as a society that may not be within our individual control to avoid.

Adam Whelchel, the lead facilitator of the workshop, commented, “the Nature Conservancy is proud to have played a part in helping Tufts University take a significant step towards enhanced resilience via the Community Resilience Building process. Tufts now joins an elite group of universities around the globe that have proactively embraced resilience as an opportunity to find a more vibrant future for their faculty, staff, students, and the surrounding community.”

Similar Community Resilience Building Workshops will be coming to the Boston and Grafton campuses soon, stay tuned!

 

Second Nature Internship (Boston, MA)

December 31, 2014 / / 11 Comments

SECOND NATURE INTERNSHIP, SPRING 2015

Location: Boston, MA, USA

Second Nature is a Boston-based non-profit organization working to create a sustainable society by transforming higher education. Accomplished through a variety of initiatives including the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) a program with over 680 colleges and universities where the presidents have committed to carbon neutrality and climate action on their campuses.

Second Nature is seeking applicants for internships that may focus on any of the following tasks based on the applicant’s area of interest:

  • Support member institutions with meeting their sustainability and resilience goals, with a focus on programs with minority-serving institutions
  • Assist with recruitment activities for new and existing members
  • Perform research and analysis of current programs to optimize member services and develop new resources for member institutions, utilizing our unique datasets
  • Assist with communications and outreach
  • Provide support for grant submission and corporate engagement initiatives
  • CRM database management and data entry

Knowledge of sustainability and resilience issues, a passion for supporting under-resourced organizations and the ability to contribute to the growth of the organization through new skills, insights, and creative ideas are musts. Outstanding candidates may possess some of the following: research and data analysis skills; excellent writing and communication skills; knowledge of Salesforce or other customer management software; experience developing corporate relationships and external fundraising; an advanced understanding of the ACUPCC (including experience with greenhouse gas inventories and/or climate action planning); and in-depth knowledge and passion for climate leadership issues relevant to higher education.

Position Details: Second Nature offers a dynamic and creative work environment with a customized experience for each intern designed to be challenging and build desired skill-sets. These positions have a flexible work schedule with approximately a 4-5 month, 15-20 hour a week commitment. Interns will have direct supervision from Second Nature staff beginning in Jan/February 2015 and ending April/May 2015, both local and remote options are available. This is a paid internship, and can also be completed for credit.

Who Should Apply: Students at all post-secondary institutions– including graduate level, bachelor’s and associates students– are invited to apply. Women and minority applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

Faculty & Staff: Please forward this application to students that may be a good fit for this experience.

How to Apply: Please fill out the form below.  Upload a Resume & Cover Letter. Direct your cover letter to: Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, Director of ACUPCC Inititaitves. In your cover letter please address what you hope to gain from an internship with Second Nature, your primary interest areas, and what relevant experiences you may have.

APPLY ONLINE

About Employment with Second Nature

Second Nature’s mission is to accelerate movement toward a sustainable future by serving and supporting senior college and university leaders in making healthy, just, and sustainable living the foundation of all learning and practice in higher education.  We believe that in order for society to move in a sustainable direction, higher education must develop a new framework in which the sector and individual institutions operate as a fully integrated communities that teach, research, and model social and ecological sustainability.

Second Nature is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on any of the following: race, religious creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or gender characteristics, national origin, religion, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, military service or veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.

Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

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