MENDOCINO Co., 3/8/21 — This winter, Northern California has seen significantly below average rainfall and snowpack, and as Cal Fire prepares for the potential of another intense wildfire season, communities across the North Coast are struggling to determine how to best prepare for the “new normal” precipitated by climate change, and what solutions might work to build community resiliency.
At the University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC), researchers have long been examining how the environment has been changing with the climate, best practices for land management after wildfires, changes to water resources, and more, and are launching of series of free online community conversations about climate change in Northern California starting on Thursday, March 25 at 6 p.m.
The community conversation series, called “NorCal Climate Futures,” will include time for Q&A with the public, and cover topics including forest health and climate preparedness, land recovery after wildfire, carbon farming, water resources, and more.
Here’s the announcement from HREC with details about how to sign up for the events; you can visit the March 25 event’s Facebook page here:
What climate change impacts can we expect in Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties? How can we build our knowledge and resiliency to face these changes?
HREC will be hosting an extended Q&A and an open discussion about the ways climate change is being felt in Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma county. There will be a corresponding discussion of the community networks and solutions that already exist and ways we can build on them. We hope that this will be an opportunity for people to meet their neighbors and discuss ways to strengthen climate resiliency networks.
Tune in before the open discussion to hear lectures about the predicted effects of climate change on Northern California and the existing community resources such as local Resource Conservation Districts and funding opportunities for land management projects. This is the first event in a multi-part series which will more deeply explore specific effects of climate change.
This series of online events will cover:
Local Climate Change Effects – Thursday, March 25, 6-7pm PST.
Forest Health and Fire Preparedness – Thursday, April 15, 6-7:30pm PST.
Post-fire Land Recovery – Thursday, May 20, 6-7:30pm PST.
What is Carbon Farming? – Thursday, June 17, 6-7:30pm PST.
Water Resources in Northern California – Thursday, July 15, 6-7:30pm PST.
Input from attendants at these events will support future summer events, allowing feedback to political leaders and the academic community.This is a free online event.
Register required online at: http://bit.ly/norcalclimate