Together, we can forge solutions based on the lived experiences of community members and build the relationships needed to thrive in the face of a changing climate.
Workshop Results
English Summary (PDF)
Spanish Summary (PDF)
Workshop details
Hosted by the Scenario Planning Team at the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Anticipating
the Climate-Water Transition (WyACT) project
November 7, 2024, 5:15-8:30pm, dinner included, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jackson,
WY
This event will continue to build on prior scenario planning work in the Teton region conducted by the Wyoming Anticipating the Climate-Water Transition (WyACT) project. This event connects community stakeholders to think about climate scenarios together, building relationships around strategies for adaptation. We make space for you to have conversations— grounded in locally-specific climate data and projections—between those with institutional capacity and those most vulnerable to climate change. Scenario planning workshops forge relationships and build collective knowledge needed for local action. Since about two-thirds of Teton County’s immigrant population are native Spanish speakers, this workshop will be held in both Spanish and English, to enrich communication.
We use the ecology-based metaphors of grassroots and grasstops to recognize and differentiate between two types of participating stakeholders, working together to build a thriving community in the face of climate change:
- Grassroots are those in the region most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, especially immigrants who are a large portion of the area’s workforce. The grassroots secure the essential nutrients for the community, sustain networks of communication, transportation, utilities, and other key services. This work is sometimes unseen by the rest of the community. The impacts of climate change, like higher temperatures, shorter winters and disrupted road networks, can have severe consequences on their daily lives. While the needs of grassroots community members are often the focus of policy and planning, they are often not included in processes to plan for the future. Yet their stories, experiences and perspectives can be more meaningful to decision-makers than the numbers summarizing their interests or needs.
- Grasstops participants are natural resource managers, planners, city and county staff, educators, non-profit leaders and elected officials. They have the institutional and/or bureaucratic power, capacity or resources to build and design for the new climate future. Their public service and access to policy levers and expert research carries sunshine to fuel adaptive, sustainable communities.
We think the grassroots/grasstops metaphor is powerful, but we know it has limits. Most of us feel a sense of belonging to both groups. In adopting this language, we aim to make the space where a diversity of experience meets to produce shared knowledge.
WORKSHOP GOALS
- Foster strong connections between and within groups (grassroots, grasstops and climate
scientists)Stimulate conversations about potential partnerships, focused on:
Adaptation to current and projected future climate changes
Systemic and institutional change that draws on the expertise and experience of both grasstops and grassroots community members - Build shared knowledge among grassroots, grasstops, and WyACT researchers of each other's work
The WyACT Scenarios Team has been engaged with both grassroots and grasstops stakeholders in Teton County over the last 18 months, holding conversations about climate futures and adaptation strategies. Both groups have separately brainstormed strategic actions to take in the face of several future scenarios. While the scenario planning processes have been different with each group, both have already grappled with a “Warm Refuge” climate scenario. Both have also brainstormed strategic actions to take in anticipation of a “Warm Refuge” future. At the workshop, participants will pick up on the collective work already done around adaptation strategies, brainstorming what institutions and individuals might work together to advance them into practice. The Warm Refuge scenario was developed with UW climate scientists and is based on locally relevant climate projections and historical data. It is a plausible, scientifically-grounded version of what the region’s climate future might look like.
LEARN MORE
Definition: What is Scenario Planning?
Climate Information Sheets on the Greater Yellowstone Area/Hojas de información climática
sobre el Área de Gran Yellowstone
Research brief: The Upper Snake River’s Climate Future: Scenario Planning for Uncertainty
Informe de investigación: El futuro climático del Alto Río Snake: Planificación de escenarios para la incertidumbre
FAQs
We welcome anyone who might fit the following descriptions:
- You see yourself reflected in the description of grassroots or grasstops above
- You think your perspective and experiences as a resident and community member of Teton County are important for policy makers and community leaders to understand as they plan for a new climate future
- You play a role (or want to play a role) in preparing for a new climate future, perhaps through non-profit work, work for the city, county or state, or as a member of the business community
We welcome children and partners to the event. The meeting space at St. John’s Episcopal Church has a children's corner with games and activities, but you must provide supervision for them. You can let us know your plans in the registration form. Unfortunately, under the terms of our funding, we are unable to provide childcare.
No. St. John’s has a long tradition of making space for educational and artistic community events as part of their service to the community. But let’s take this question seriously. We recognize and respect that religious values inform how many people perceive their responsibilities to care for the Earth. We know how to make breathing room for participants whose religious identities inform a range of responses to climate change, from their sense of the need to act now, to the moral imperative for social justice and caring for the vulnerable, to those whose religious worldview suggests that human adaptation is not necessary. Our workshop delivers empirical information, not theological reflection, while allowing for participants to discuss the values that drive their priorities.
We would love to answer them! Contact Anderson de Figuereido (Spanish/English) or Caitlin Ryan for more information.
