Climate Resilience Vision
One of the first and most important steps in a community’s path towards increased climate resilience is to develop a formalized vision. A Climate Resilience Vision is a document that gathers community input on what a climate-resilient community would look like in the future. With this in mind, project partners have been assisting communities with developing a climate vision that fits into regional and statewide resilience goals.
What is the process like?
Since the most important part of the Climate Resilience Vision is gathering community input from a wide array of stakeholders, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) staff begin by assisting the community to create a diverse and representative task force to help coordinate the effort. CCE staff work with the task force to coordinate and facilitate two public outreach events designed to gather input about local vulnerabilities and community assets, and how they envision themselves as a climate resilient community in the future.
Once community input is gathered, CCE staff and the task force draft a brief, inspirational statement and vision document that reflects the community’s aspirations and values with regards to building local resiliency to climate change. The draft vision document is then widely shared for public comment. After any additional feedback is received, CCE staff finalize the document and facilitate approval of the vision and goals by the community’s elected officials.
Gathering community input at a local food market stand
Who from the municipality is typically involved?
Any of the following people can be identified to be on the task force:
Town Supervisor
Village/City Mayor
Municipal staff
Climate Smart Community Chair and/or CSC Task Force members
Conservation Advisory Council/Board members
Community leaders including, but not limited to, spiritual leaders, business leaders, and neighborhood leaders
Staff from community-based organizations
Residents of the municipality
Members of community volunteer groups
Other community stakeholders
What will the municipality receive at the end?
The municipality will receive a finalized Climate Resilience Vision document that can easily be added into a Climate Adaptation Plan, or other pre-identified municipal plan. The Climate Resilience Vision will include a statement crafted by community input with community goals, as well as a detailed description of the public engagement process. Staff will also help facilitate the approval of this document by the community’s elected officials by assisting the task force members to present the Climate Resilience Vision to the town/city/village board.
