CIRCA Launches the Resilient Connecticut Collaborative
The CIRCA team is excited for the launch of the Resilient Connecticut Collaborative (RCC). There are currently 19 committed members from 16 different regional and state-wide organizations. Members represent conservation, utility, real estate, historic resources, planning, agriculture, food, and environmental justice organizations. The first meeting, held in January, focused on the Climate Change Vulnerability Index and included icebreaker activities, short Resilient Connecticut project presentations, and breakout groups on a mapping tool. We incorporated several digital tools to enhance the virtual meeting experience including Microsoft Teams, Slido, and Miro. The RCC will meet 4-6 times throughout 2021. While an advisory group, the RCC is also a facilitated community of practice where members can share their organization’s goals, network with each other, and advance their understanding of climate change. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Joanna Wozniak-Brown, Assistant Director of Resilience Planning, joanna.wozniak-brown@uconn.edu
Updated Zones of Shared Risk Maps for Coastal Towns
Zones of shared risk maps are now updated for 14 coastal towns in the Resilient Connecticut region of New Haven and Fairfield Counties. This new update by UConn Professor Peter Miniutti and his research team includes zones of shared risk maps that consider infrastructure, hydrological, ecological, social, and institutional elements of a community. For more information about this project, please visit the Defining Zones of Shared Risk project page and download updated maps and datasets here.
Workshops Held in Four COG Regions
The Resilient Connecticut team held their first regional workshops with four Council of Governments (COGs) in New Haven and Fairfield Counties. Workshops included two information sessions to learn about preliminary Change Vulnerability Index and Zones of Shared Risk findings. Each session was followed by small group exercises to discuss, refine, and to better understand these tools for future resilience planning efforts. The inclusion of regional stakeholder input is an important component of shaping these tools, and ultimately identifying resilience pilot projects throughout the regions. To watch workshop videos, view slides, download fact sheets, or explore preliminary map viewers, please see the workshop website. NOTE: due to inclement weather the final MetroCOG workshop was changed to Monday, February 8. A second regional workshop series will be held this spring so keep an eye out for the schedule in future Roundup news!