Current Issue Presentations: Adapting to a Changing Climate

Though the Current Issue theme is set each year by NFC-Envirothon, participating states write their own current issue scenario. This allows us to customize the issue to the impacts and strategies occurring in our region. This year, our Climate Resilience Program Manager, Christina Anderson, wrote that scenario.

For our competition, we set a familiar scene: A community is experiencing extreme weather events that are impacting their economy, which includes agriculture, urban centers, and a world class fishery. Competing teams were tasked with preparing a presentation for the community’s Climate Change Task Force. Students presented their ideas for adaptation and mitigation solutions to help the community prioritize climate action projects.

“The students did a fantastic job! Teams understood that implementing conservation is a great climate solution that both adapts landowners to extreme weather and mitigates climate change by lowering greenhouse gas emissions,” said Anderson. “It was energizing to hear the students’ breadth of understanding of the science, creativity in identifying solutions, and ideas for achieving community buy-in.”