The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub are offering an Adaptation Planning and Practices online training for forest and natural resource managers, land owners, and stewards. This is an interactive training to learn about climate change impacts and to identify adaptation actions for ecosystems (rural and urban), habitats, and resource areas, and with cultural perspectives. Throughout this training participants will develop project-specific climate adaptation plans using the Adaptation Workbook. As part of this eight-week training, all participants will receive coaching and feedback from NIACS staff in structured weekly web-based lectures and group discussion meetings. NIACS technical support and coaching is available to all participants throughout the entire training.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Through this training, participants will be able to...
- Identify locally-important climate change impacts, challenges, and opportunities
- Develop specific actions to adapt ecosystems to changing conditions
- Use the Adaptation Workbook to create custom “climate-informed” project plans
- Improve communication with stakeholders about key climate change impacts, challenges, and opportunities
- Access post-training support from NIACS staff during project planning and implementation
COST: There are no registration fees thanks to the support of the US Forest Service and the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub.
EXPECTATIONS: Each week participants are expected to to work through a step of the Adaptation Workbook. For this training, additional efforts include: watching one short recorded lecture (~15 min), joining one 1-hour discussion session (assigned by state), and completing independent work time on their Adaptation Workbook (1-2 hours per week). If you are unable to join the 1-hour weekly meeting please look for future trainings as this might not be the right fit for you.
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS: Pending: 20 Category 1 CFEs through the Society of American Foresters and 13.5 credits through the International Society of Arboriculture (13.5 credits).
General Training Agenda
The training begins January 27 and runs through March 23, 2025. A detailed agenda will be sent to confirmed participants. General training details are provided below.
Each week participants are expected to to work through a step of the Adaptation Workbook. For this training additional efforts include: watching one short recorded lecture (~15 min), joining one 1-hour discussion session (assigned by state), and completing independent work time on their Adaptation Workbook (1-2 hours per week).
DISCUSSION MEETING DAYS WILL BE ASSIGNED:
- Tuesday 10a ET - Discussion Group 1 (Projects located in the Northeast region: CT, DE, NH, NJ, NY, MA, ME, MD, PA, RI, VT, WV)
- Wednesday 11a ET - Discussion Group 2 (Projects located in the Midwest region: IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI)
- Thursday 11a ET - Discussion Group 3 (All Urban Forest projects: Not geographically dependent)
Weekly Topics
The training runs weekly from January 27 - March 17, 2025. Each week participants will complete assignments from the Adaptation Workbook. A general training week-by-week overview is provided below:
Week 1 — Introduction; Defining Project Goals and Objectives. Additional optional session to learn more about forest carbon.
Week 2 — Understanding and Evaluating Climate Change Vulnerabilities. Additional optional session on the USDA Climate Change Tree Atlas tool.
Week 3 — Evaluating Management Challenges and Opportunities. Additional optional session on adaptation strategies in consideration of carbon.
Week 4 — BREAK WEEK (No session, independent work time).
Week 5 — Identifying Adaptation Strategies, Approaches, and Tactics
Week 6 — Monitoring and Evaluating Effectiveness.
Week 7 — Climate Change Communication.
Week 8 — Training Participants present Adaptation Plans (5 min presentations).
Registration Process
We ask participants to bring their own real-world projects that will benefit from the adaptation planning process and training materials. Ideally, the project is relevant to their work, such as a management plan or another effort. During the training, participants will be coached on considering the possible effects of climate impacts on the project area, the feasibility of achieving project goals, and plausible adaptation strategies that can be integrated into the project plan. At the end of the training, participants will have a custom-built adaptation plan that’s ready to implement!
BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THIS TRAINING:
- The training has a geographic focus on the Midwest and Northeast (20 states) in the USA. For projects outside of this region please stay tuned for future offerings.
- Participants must bring a real-world project to training to set the context for learning the Adaptation Workbook, group discussions, and activities.
- Projects aiming to complete strategic planning or large-scale planning efforts should not register for this training. Please contact us to learn about future offerings that might be a better fit.
- Before registering please download the Step 1 - Project Worksheet to describe your project in greater detail If you need assistance please watch the Step 1 video to learn more
- Once complete, please upload the file to this folder (please add your name to the document) and then proceed with registration.
- If you do not complete a Step 1 worksheet we cannot accept you into the training.
REGISTER FOR THE TRAINING HERE
Contact Danielle, Maddy, or Hannah with any questions.
Need help understanding Step 1?
This video provides an introduction to Step 1 of the Adaptation Workbook. Watch the video before completing the step 1 worksheet.
Once complete: Upload Step 1 to this folder