What is climate resilience?
As we begin to experience increasingly significant effects of a warming planet—from obvious impacts like wildfire smoke and extreme heat, to less obvious effects such as increased migration, shifts in precipitation patterns, and warming of rivers and streams—the concept of resilience becomes increasingly important. According to the Washington State Department of Ecology:
"Climate resilience is the ongoing process of anticipating, preparing for, and adapting to changes in climate and minimizing negative impacts to our natural systems, infrastructure, and communities. For natural systems, increasing climate resilience involves restoring and increasing the health, function, and integrity of our ecosystems and improving their ability to absorb and recover from climate-affected disturbances. For communities, increasing climate resilience means enhancing their ability to understand, prevent, adapt, and recover from climate impacts to people and infrastructure."
What is the Climate Resilience Project?
As a response to the increasing need for extreme heat research and community action, the Climate Resilience Project was established as a project of the Gonzaga Climate Institute in 2022 after the deadly 2021 Northwest Heat Dome. Since then, the Climate Resilience Project has grown in scope and depth. Today, the Climate Resilience Project supports communities in the Inland Northwest in understanding, preparing for, and responding to climate-driven events. In collaboration with diverse regional partners and informed by intentional community engagement, we work to create equitable human societies within flourishing ecological communities in the face of a changing climate.
