The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) marked its 10-year anniversary on Thursday, October 10th, with a special event at UConn Avery Point. The event, held from 10 am to 12:30 pm, highlighted CIRCA’s mission to help Connecticut’s vulnerable communities become more resilient to the growing impacts of climate change.

The event began with opening remarks from UConn’s Vice President for Research, Pamir Alpay, followed by a congratulatory message from U.S. Senator Chris Murphy’s office, delivered by his Outreach Coordinator, Erin McBride, celebrating CIRCA’s decade of service. Katie Dykes, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), also spoke, emphasizing DEEP and CIRCA’s collaborative efforts in advancing climate resilience, particularly through the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund (DCRF) and highlighting the partnership between agencies and academic partners as a national model for climate services to help municipalities make proactive investments in climate resilience.

James O’Donnell, CIRCA’s Executive Director and a Professor of Marine Science at UConn shared his insights into CIRCA’s progress over the past decade, emphasizing the Resilient Connecticut Program and the institute’s work with over 110 municipalities across the state.  O’Donnell also underlined the importance of state agency collaboration and the Resilience Roadmap for Connecticut, a document which provides a pathway forward for the state as we continue to experience the impacts of climate change: Resilience-Road-Map-Recommendations-for-Connecticut-9524-V2.pdf (uconn.edu).

The event also included a bipartisan legislative panel, moderated by Joseph McDougald, Executive Director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Law and Professor in Residence at UConn Law School. The panel included notable state legislators: Senators Christine Cohen, Tony Hwang, Cathy Osten, and Heather Somers, and State Representatives Aundré Bumgardner and Irene Haines. The legislators were appreciative of the efforts of CIRCA and UConn, and praised the collaborations with state government in supporting Connecticut’s towns and cities in preparing for climate-related challenges. The discussions included key questions about improving outreach and funding for storm preparedness and resilience across Connecticut and explored the state's existing programs and areas needing more attention.