To Drive or Not to Drive – Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled

Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator Drive, bike, or bus- decisions, decisions! Like most American adults, I can easily jump in my car to travel from place to place. I may be concerned about the price of gas, or gridlock on the road, but how often do I think about the tailpipe emissions that I’m generating? […]

Lessons From Copenhagen on Being a Bike-Friendly City

Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator “Don’t step off the curb! Watch out!” my daughter Zoey admonished me, as I negligently stepped off the pedestrian curb onto the bike path during a recent visit to Copenhagen. I quickly jumped back up onto the pedestrian walkway, lest I get run down by a bike commuter. Zoey had […]

The Intersections of Youth, Arts, Climate Change, and Public Health

Taylor Seale, MPH, Positive Youth Development Educator Last month, Extension colleagues from the Positive Youth Development Institute and Natural Resources Institute partnered with the Arts + Literature Laboratory to create an educational workshop for teens that centered on climate change and the arts. During the event, teens could connect with local environmental organizations, walk through […]

Tis the Season to Celebrate Soil!

By Michelle Probst, former Natural Resource Educator As we enter the holiday season, there is one holiday that simply cannot be missed—World Soils Day. On Dec. 5th of every year, we set a day to appreciate soil and focus on the importance of healthy soil. As a soil scientist, I jump for joy that everyone […]

Engaging Conversation through Art: The CarbonEra Cafe

by Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator Climate conversations can be initiated in so many different ways. Some conversations are prompted by a powerful question. Other conversations emerge due to circumstances, such as a flood, fire, or other evidence of environmental change. Some of the most powerful conversations are inspired by a creative catalyst, such as […]

Local Communities: Key Players in Addressing Climate Change

by Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator There’s no doubt that Individual actions such as eliminating air travel, reducing car miles, and eating less meat can result in significant carbon reductions. I know from my own experience that when my friends and colleagues are taking action, it motivates me to follow their lead. Individual actions can […]

Tree Canopy – A Tool To Build Climate Resilience

Author: Lisa Johnson, Horticulture Educator The Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change has created a Climate Action Plan to cut carbon emissions in half within the next decade. One of the ways to help achieve this goal is to protect existing trees and increase tree canopy cover in the county. The non-profit American […]

It’s All Connected–How Climate Change is Affecting Our Lakes

By Michelle Probst, former Natural Resources Educator I attended a workshop where participants in the room were asked to silently pick two random people in the room and, without those people knowing, you had to stay equally distanced from the two people. People moved throughout the room, slowly, carefully, to make sure they stayed in […]

Climate Change: What does perception have to do with it? 

By Sharon Lezberg, Community Development Educator Do you know people who are anxious about climate change, but share that they don’t know what to do about it? Do you know others who believe that global warming is not happening? I often find myself talking with people who are concerned about climate change and are working […]

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