Twelve local governments are partnering with Indiana University this year to accelerate progress toward their climate goals and invest in urban trees canopies.
The program, which connects Hoosier cities and towns to new training and resources as well as to IU students, is led by IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute as part of its McKinney Midwest Climate Project.
The institute’s 2024 Resilience Cohort offers two tracks: a climate action accelerator track and urban green infrastructure track. Climate action accelerator participants will be trained in “Strategic Doing,” a framework for tackling complex problems, like sustainability, where solutions require extensive collaboration. Green infrastructure participants will conduct community-wide tree canopy assessments and plant and maintain trees in areas that will benefit the most from investment.
Participants in the accelerator cohort include Columbus, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Gary, West Lafayette and East Chicago. Participants in the green infrastructure cohort include Warsaw, Elkhart, Richmond, Culver and Plymouth. Evansville is participating in both tracks.
“In recent years, many Indiana communities have conducted assessments and created plans to reduce local emissions and prepare residents for the effects of climate change,” said Therese Dorau, Environmental Resilience Institute assistant director for policy and implementation. “With this community input and local data as a guide, the opportunity is ripe now for action. Through the Resilience Cohort program, local governments will be taking tangible steps toward sustainability and developing the skills they need to make long-term progress on their stated goals.”
