What's Happening at the SW Hub

 

 

 

 

  1. The Climate Change and Water Cycle Curriculum is Now Online!

The Southwest Climate Hub in partnership with the Asombro Institute for Science Education has created a 10-hour curriculum unit on climate change for students in grades 6-12.  The unit consists of nine hands-on activities conducted over 10 days, though each unit can stand alone.  The materials used in each activity are inexpensive and fairly easy to find, and the curriculum is free to download.  Some of the activities are “Insulating You, Insulating Earth: Examining the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect”, which models the effect of the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, “The Water Cycle Game” teaches students about the roles of reservoirs and hydrologic processes within the water cycle, and “Weather or Climate? You Decide!” uses students’ understanding of the definitions of climate and weather.

https://swclimatehub.info/education/climate-change-and-water-cycle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. The Southwest Climate Hub Co-Hosted the 2015 Southwest Climate Summit

The Southwest Climate Hub is proud to be one of a group of federal climate change partners to have hosted the Summit, which was held November 2-3, 2015, in Sacramento, California. The Summit focused on bridging the gap from science to management in climate adaptation. Kris Havstad and Joel Brown, from the Southwest Climate Hub, moderated the two rangelands sessions at the summit. The first session delved into the impacts of climate variability, particularly drought, on California rangeland health. Presenters provided foundational science and links to management action in climate adaptation. The second session focused on rangeland adaptation to climate change via the presentation of case studies and specific examples. Speakers represented cooperative extension, the California Cattlemen’s Association and academia highlighted both recent strategies to cope with a changing climate and broader understanding of historic and expected transformation of western rangelands. Other session topics included tribal climate adaptation, landscape conservation design, forested and coastal ecosystems, climate models, and more.

Read more here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. California Rangeland Vulnerability Assessment Previewed

The Southwest Climate Hub and the California Sub Hub organized and led a workshop “Coping with Historic Drought in California Rangelands: Developing Strategies, Tactics and Tools” in September 2015. The workshop, led by Joel Brown, Emile Elias and Helena Deswood brought together 24 representatives of federal and state agencies, as well as universities to preview the soon-to-be released California Rangeland Vulnerability Assessment (VA). The VA is one of the first projects of the California Sub Hub staff and addresses the ecological, sociological and economic impacts of climate change, particularly extended, intensive drought, on California Rangelands. The purpose of the workshop was to involve state level leadership of relevant agencies in developing responsive tactics to assist land managers in coping with the current drought and to explore strategies for dealing with a more variable climate in the near future. Workshop participants also identified 1) a need for improved prediction and monitoring tools to guide program development, 2) how agencies can help support land managers to improve adaptive capacity and 3) mitigation opportunities and threats. The Vulnerability Assessment is due to be released before the end of December 2015. Video of the workshop is being edited and will soon be accessible. An article describing the workshop outcomes is being prepared for the journal Rangelands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. USDA Regional Climate Hub Leads Forum

A meeting was held on October 20-22, 2015 in Washington, DC with the Climate Hub and Sub Hub leads from each region. The leads met with USDA agency representatives to recap the accomplishments of 2015, as well as identify the priorities for 2016. Secretary Vilsack, Under Secretary Robert Bonnie and Under Secretary Catherine Woteki all spoke at the meeting.