In Portsmouth, Virginia, extreme heat isn’t just a weather issue; it’s a matter of environmental justice. With limited tree cover, expansive concrete surfaces, and high rates of poverty and chronic health conditions, the city is facing a mounting climate crisis that hits hardest in its most vulnerable neighborhoods. However, a collaborative effort led by Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) and the Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC) is working to change that, block by block, tree by tree. 

A City at Risk

Portsmouth ranks high on the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) at 0.84, well above Virginia’s average of 0.39 and the national average of 0.58, highlighting the disproportionate climate burden placed on its residents. These vulnerabilities concentrate in formerly redlined areas and majority-black neighborhoods where infrastructure and health disparities intersect with the growing threat of extreme heat. 

“Portsmouth is significantly less affluent than neighboring cities like Virginia Beach,” said Garry Harris, Executive Director of CSC and co-lead of the project. “You see it in the heat. Wealthier areas have trees. Poorer areas have concrete.” 

Backed by funding from the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program, the “Cool Down P-Town” initiative takes a community-first approach to heat resilience, combining community science, public education, and long-term policy change. 

Naming the campaign Cool Down P-Town was a strategic move. “We designed ‘Cool Down P-Town’ to be approachable and empowering,” Harris explained. “The phrase itself avoids technical jargon and immediately connects with residents.” Instead of complex scientific terms, the approachable phrase quickly caught on and opened doors to deeper community conversations about heat, tree cover, and climate action​.

Mapping the Heat

In the summer of 2024, volunteers fanned out across Portsmouth to collect real-time temperature and humidity data using equipment provided by CAPA Strategies. This community science effort followed a proven model for identifying urban heat islands. It yielded striking results: temperature differences of up to 9°F were recorded within a day, with the hottest zones aligning with low-income, low-tree-cover neighborhoods. 

While a complete analysis of Portsmouth’s data is ongoing, preliminary findings from Virginia Beach, a nearby city previously studied by VWU, showed a clear pattern: areas with higher populations of people of color and low-income communities experienced significantly higher temperatures. Early data from Portsmouth is expected to confirm similar trends, reinforcing the systemic nature of environmental inequity. 

The data collection effort also created hands-on learning opportunities for students. Several VWU undergraduates and one graduate student, majoring in related focuses like Earth and Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, and Education, participated in the project. 

“This project allowed me to apply skills from my Intro to GIS course while also developing new techniques and a deeper understanding of the program’s applications. Geospatial information is a powerful tool for understanding the environmental challenges we face—and from that understanding, we can begin to address them. I plan to carry these skills forward into my master’s studies in Environmental Systems Sciences and Climate & Environmental Monitoring. More than anything, I appreciated the opportunity to work with meaningful data and contribute to something bigger than myself.”
– Elizabeth Smeltzer, Senior Environmental Studies major, VWU

From Data to Action

The data didn’t just stay in spreadsheets; it came to life in a town hall at New Bethel Baptist Church, a trusted community space now serving as a Resilience Hub. More than 40 residents and community partners gathered for a gallery walk of the heat maps and an open mic session, where personal stories gave weight to the numbers. “So many people shared experiences that they closed out the session,” Harris said. “It showed just how much this issue matters.”

Four trees were planted at the church that day, a symbolic but tangible start to a broader plan. Over the next year, the project will remove asphalt and plant native and fruit-bearing trees in neighborhoods identified as high-risk using a combination of heat and demographic data, including metrics from the EPA’s EJScreen and the White House Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. 

Justice-Driven, Community-Led

By layering heat mapping data with indicators like poverty, asthma rates, and transportation access, VWU and CSC ensure that resources go where they’re needed most. The effort is grounded in a philosophy Harris calls “just science,” a model that blends scientific rigor with a deep commitment to racial and climate justice. 

The town hall wasn’t just a meeting; it was the kickoff of a movement. Residents voiced the need for better housing insulation, updated air conditioning, and more green space, concerns that are now shaping the project’s next steps. VWU students are developing lesson plans on urban heat islands and green infrastructure for local schools, while CSC is preparing policy recommendations for city officials. 

“As a university rooted in service and sustainability, we’re proud to stand at the intersection of research and action—where data drives change and community voices shape the future,” said VWU President Scott D. Miller. “This is what it means to put our values to work.”

Growing Long-Term Resilience

The long-term vision for Cool Down P-Town is expansive. In addition to its immediate goals, like mitigating extreme heat through green infrastructure, the project lays the groundwork for systemic change. The Resilience Hub at New Bethel Baptist Church will eventually serve dual roles: a shelter with solar and better systems during heat emergencies, and a year-round community center offering food access, job training, and transportation assistance. 

The project also plans to institutionalize tree protection policies, incentivize canopy expansion through zoning reform, and model Portsmouth’s resilience work after cities like Atlanta, which boasts a 47% tree canopy. CSC recently rebranded and expanded its outreach and mitigation efforts as “Trees Across Portsmouth,” better amplifying and immediately connecting the need for residents to engage in long-term resilience through tree and shrub planting and related efforts. 

Partnerships with Starbase Victory and the Elizabeth River Project ensure ongoing support and educational outreach. At the same time, other collaborations signal a growing national interest in replicating the model elsewhere. 

A Cooler, Fairer Future

Cool Down P-Town isn’t just a catchy slogan, it’s a community-led blueprint for climate justice. By centering science in the hands of citizens and solutions in the voices of residents, Portsmouth is transforming its heat crisis into an opportunity for empowerment. 

As Harris put it, “This is about more than just temperature. It’s about who gets to thrive in the face of a changing climate.”

The post Cool Down P-Town: Building Climate Resilience Through Community Science and Action appeared first on Second Nature.

At the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), the Heritage Garden demonstrates how cultural heritage and environmental justice can advance climate action. As a hands-on learning initiative of the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC), the Heritage Garden integrates sustainability into the university’s operations through its paid internship program and community engagement efforts. By connecting environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice, this program prepares students to address climate and environmental challenges.

A Vision Rooted in Research and Equity

The Heritage Garden originated from research conducted by Dr. Rosa Cabrera and Dr. Lori Baptista in 2009 while at the Field Museum. Their work, commissioned by the City of Chicago, identified key community concerns, including immigration, youth development, cultural heritage, and environmental justice, emphasizing the need to incorporate these into climate action. This vision became a reality when they joined UIC as directors of the Latino Cultural Center and Black Cultural Center, utilizing the newly established Sustainability Fund to create the Heritage Garden.

The program recruits interns each summer, providing opportunities to build skills and assume leadership roles. Under the guidance of the Latino Cultural Center staff, students lead initiatives that connect horticulture with environmental justice and cultural narratives. Weekly discussions, research projects, and peer-led activities build knowledge and empower students to develop solutions for climate challenges.

Addressing Climate Challenges Through Urban Gardening

The Heritage Garden includes nine satellite gardens featuring native and culturally significant plants. Sites such as the Shikwaaka Garden, developed in partnership with the American Indian Center of Chicago, and a Monarch Butterfly Habitat illustrate the role of urban gardening in mitigating climate change. These gardens absorb rainwater, improve air quality, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity, providing practical examples of urban climate resilience.

To extend its impact, the program includes mobile resources such as a seed library and tea apothecary, which share knowledge and materials with communities throughout Chicagoland. Annual events such as the Fall Harvest Festival and Spring Seed Swap bring together university and community partners, fostering connections for collaborative action.

Strengthening Community Engagement

On a busy urban campus, the Heritage Garden provides spaces for engagement and reflection. Students and community members often visit these gardens, which promote a sense of belonging that supports academic success and emotional well-being. Alumni frequently share how their involvement with the program informed their career paths in environmental justice, conservation, and cultural work.

During its 10th anniversary, the Heritage Garden launched a tea library created in collaboration with a community artist and student leaders. The event also featured an archive documenting the program’s history to inspire future participants and guide ongoing efforts.

Advancing Climate Justice and Equity

The Heritage Garden is rooted in principles of climate justice, prioritizing equitable pay for student interns and community partners. The program acknowledges the university’s location on the occupied land of the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi peoples and emphasizes the importance of addressing this historical context in its work. By integrating climate justice into its curriculum and practices, the program equips students to lead in policy, land stewardship, and cultural advocacy.

Collaborating to Address Climate Challenges

The Heritage Garden partners with internal groups such as UIC’s cultural centers, the Disability Resource Center, the Biology Department, and the Office of Diversity and Equity. External collaborations include organizations such as the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, the American Indian Center of Chicago, and the Chicago Cultural Alliance. These partnerships facilitate access to resources and expand the program’s reach.

Through its curriculum and projects, the Heritage Garden emphasizes peer-to-peer education, resource-sharing, and seed saving, which extend the life of materials and support urban gardening efforts. Students contribute their knowledge as part of decision-making processes, such as serving on the UIC Sustainability Fund advisory board to allocate funding for sustainable campus projects. These contributions ensure that the program aligns with broader institutional and community goals.

The Heritage Garden demonstrates how integrating cultural heritage and environmental justice can address climate challenges. The program supports urban resilience and promotes sustainable practices by focusing on experiential learning and community partnerships. Through its work, the Heritage Garden continues to create opportunities for students and communities to engage in climate action.

To learn more about the Heritage Garden at UIC, visit https://heritagegarden.uic.edu. 

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Dillard University has a rich history of promoting social justice and community engagement. However, its commitment to sustainability is a recent initiative that became more defined in 2023. While attending Second Nature’s Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, Dillard was inspired to join Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Network as an Affiliate member.

Kem Opperman-Torres, Director of Sustainability at Dillard, said, “What makes it [Affiliate Membership] attractive is that it’s an easy way to start, get your foot in the door, and see what Second Nature has to offer. Through my connections with Second Nature, I’ve met partners and collaborators who’ve opened up a world of opportunities. Since then, we’ve started putting together a carbon-neutrality plan, and the university is focused on more work in sustainability.”

Becoming a Second Nature Affiliate member provided Dillard with a unique opportunity to join a network that might have otherwise been inaccessible. Opperman-Torres explained, “Being associated with Second Nature puts you in a forward-thinking mindset, showing you what you need to aim for with your program and leadership. The Intersectional Climate Action Leaders Working Group at Second Nature has been key, giving HBCUs like ours a chance to share ideas and build awareness.”

This membership is especially valuable for smaller HBCUs with limited financial resources, as it opens doors to a larger community of sustainability-minded institutions without imposing the typical cost burdens. This access allows these institutions to participate in critical conversations and collaborate on initiatives that they might otherwise be excluded from due to budget constraints.

Despite being in the early stages of its sustainability journey, Dillard has already significantly impacted its campus community. Students are highly engaged in environmental awareness activities, beautification projects, and campus cleanups. Opperman-Torres said she seizes the chance to engage with students through these activities and, in doing so, has discovered a profound sentiment. During a campus beautification project, students planted new greenery, many for the first time. Some had never wielded a shovel.  Then  she realized a pivotal truth: she couldn’t ask them to change their daily habits—like managing energy use or reducing food waste—without first fostering a genuine connection to the earth. They needed to feel the soil, witness the life growing from it, and sense the heartbeat of nature before they could be genuinely inspired to protect it.

“One student told me they had never planted a plant. It was a learning curve for me, and now I always show them how to plant properly. These simple activities have a significant impact. The students get excited about the plants, naming and caring for them, which fosters a sense of responsibility and connection to the earth,” Opperman-Torres shared.

Dillard’s Strategic Sustainability Committee, formed in October 2023, has been instrumental in driving the university’s climate action efforts. The committee, comprising faculty, staff, and students, created a Sustainability Strategic Plan, conducted waste audits, and organized events aimed at building connections and awareness for the climate action movement.

The university’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in its long-term goals and upcoming initiatives. The University Carbon Neutrality Action Plan (30 x 30) aims to significantly reduce the university’s carbon footprint by 2030 through a comprehensive framework that captures essential data and drives sustainability initiatives. Key strategies include enhancing energy efficiency, promoting renewable energy, encouraging sustainable transportation, reducing waste, and integrating sustainability into operations and curricula. The university will systematically cut emissions by conducting energy audits, upgrading infrastructure, incentivizing green commuting, and expanding recycling programs. Continuous monitoring, reporting, and community engagement will ensure accountability and progress towards a 30% reduction in net carbon emissions, embedding sustainability as a core institutional value. 

In the fall of 2023, Dillard began a partnership with Energy Smart. Using Energy Smart’s Trade Allies, Synergy Building Solutions, LLC and M3 Services, Dillard has implemented energy efficiency upgrades, offsetting significant Co2 levels and generating substantial yearly energy savings. These projects are part of a broader vision to embrace climate action as a core institutional value.

The university is also launching the New Energy Entrepreneurship (NEE) minor and Workforce (NEEW) certificate, funded by the Economic Development Administration, to promote clean energy education and entrepreneurship among students.

One of the significant barriers Dillard faced was financial constraints. However, the association with Second Nature, which allowed them to join without an initial fee, has been a game-changer. “Money is probably the biggest barrier when an institution is thinking of joining a new organization and is unsure of the benefits. The affiliate pathway allowed us to be part of the group without worrying about the costs associated with memberships,” Opperman-Torres noted.

Dillard’s interim president, Dr. Monique Guillory, has shown a strong commitment to sustainability, and the university hopes to formalize this commitment through various environmental-centric policies and tracking greenhouse gasses. For Dillard, there is an understanding that leadership is key. With a passionate leader, it’s much easier to move things forward. Those invested in the sustainability work of Dillard are “hoping to start creating policies around e-waste disposal and single-use plastics on campus,” the representative added.

In August of 2024, the EPA awarded Dillard University nearly $20 million in grant funding, a monumental achievement that underscores the university’s commitment to sustainability and community resilience. This funding will enable Dillard and its partners to lead transformative projects in Orleans, St. Tammany, and Washington Parishes, including energy-efficient building upgrades, resilience hubs, expanded transportation access, renewable energy installations, and new clean energy and climate resilience programs. This award highlights Dillard’s leadership in addressing critical environmental challenges and empowering the community, marking a significant step toward a more sustainable and resilient future.

Dillard University’s journey as a Second Nature Affiliate member is a testament to the power of accessibility and support in driving meaningful climate action. This partnership has empowered Dillard to take significant steps towards sustainability, inspiring other HBCUs and institutions to follow suit. By fostering a culture of environmental stewardship and community engagement, Dillard is paving the way for a more sustainable and equitable future.

The post Dillard University: A Journey of Sustainability and Hope appeared first on Second Nature.

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Climate Resilience

On this page

• Planning Process
• Resources

Resilience Planning Process

This diagram outlines the key steps in Second Nature’s framework for resilience planning. Second Nature’s framework encourages schools to not only assess and reduce vulnerability, but also to assess and enhance overall resilience and adaptive capacity. Campuses should go beyond managing extreme and potentially catastrophic events; they should proactively plan for preferable futures. Resilience building is an iterative process. While these steps appear to be linear, in reality campuses may be working on multiple steps simultaneously.

Resources

Working with the Community

All campuses interact with some form of external community and share resources across campus-community boundaries. Climate Leadership Network signatories need to work with their communities to build resilience.

More About Community's Role

Completing a Resilience Assessment

A Resilience Assessment provides a baseline of current resilience activities on campus and in the community, and helps campuses understand strengths and vulnerabilities in the context of climate change.

More about Resilience Assessments

Planning for Resilience

After completing a Resilience Assessment, campuses should incorporate resilience strategies and goals into a Climate Action Plan.

More about Planning

Resilience Planning Working Group

Background and purpose of the Resilience Planning Working Group and how to join!

More About the Working Group

Additional Tools and Resources

This page includes additional tools and resources to aid campuses in conducting the Resilience Assessment and developing a Climate Action Plan.

view Additional REsources

Featured Resource

Resilience touches on all aspects of a campus and surrounding community. To help campuses think comprehensively about resilience, Second Nature breaks it down into five dimensions: Ecosystem Services, Infrastructure, Social Equity & Governance, Health & Wellness, and Economic. These dimensions are not mutually exclusive. They are meant to encourage a holistic assessment of resilience and adaptive capacity. Considering each of these dimensions in the context of climate change will help campuses and communities develop a resilience plan that addresses the entire system. Resilience is not just about survival and bouncing back from disruptions; it is about being able to thrive.

Download the Report

For more information about the resilience planning process, please email resilience@secondnature.org.

The post Climate Resilience appeared first on Second Nature.

From May 28th to June 3rd, Cami Sockow and I traveled to the beautiful ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī in Honolulu to attend the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE). Our friend and colleague, Makerusa Porotesano (Mak), who has been engaged with Second Nature since 2021, is an original member of the Intersectional Climate Action Leaders Working Group and has presented during our last two Higher Education Climate Leadership Summits, generously offered this opportunity. Mak, a core leader at NCORE, has significantly enhanced our understanding and programming, particularly concerning Pacific Islanders.

On May 29th, Cami and I presented a session titled “A Second Nature Case Study: Progressing DEIAJ Work and Ethic While Serving Higher Education.” We aimed to contextualize our work at Second Nature, discuss affinity-based programming, foster difficult conversations, and differentiate internal and external DEIAJ initiatives. We also traced the history of climate and environmental justice movements and their impact on our organization’s mission and values.

The conference at the LEED Gold-certified Hawai’i Convention Center featured many sessions. Notable topics included “Interrogating the I in BIPOC: A Law and Policy Perspective” and “Colonization: The Root of Queer Antagonism.” These sessions were raw, informative, and powerful, addressing the challenges faced by faculty and staff of color in academia.

I participated in the Black caucus space, gaining insights into the specific challenges faced by Black, Asian, and American Indian faculty and staff. A prominent theme was the inadequacy of language to identify people accurately, with “BIPOC” often seen as problematic. Despite its flaws, it remains a default term, but there is a push to be more specific in naming identities and lands.

Many Black faculty expressed difficulty envisioning an education system genuinely supportive of Blackness and Black joy, highlighting the academy’s roots in colonization. Data from various presentations showed that staff of color feel significantly under-resourced and under-supported, affirming the necessity of creating affinity spaces for these professionals.

Overall, attending NCORE was a profound privilege. Cami and I returned with a deeper understanding of academia’s current state concerning race, ethnicity, and social justice. We were honored to advocate for integrating personal identities into professional work, a practice we embody at Second Nature. This invaluable experience will stay with us as we continue championing climate justice and DEIAJ efforts in higher education.

The post Second Nature Leads on Climate Programming at the 2024 National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) appeared first on Second Nature.

Contact: Bari Samad, Director of Communications & Marketing, Second Nature; bsamad@secondnature.org

(October 23, 2023) – Second Nature, a national nonprofit working to accelerate climate action in and through higher education, announces the recipients of 11 Catalyst Grants from their Acceleration Fund, totalling $100,000. The grants are intended to spark decarbonization and climate resilience work, and support initiatives that advance climate justice. 

The grants were awarded during Campus Sustainability Month, which celebrates higher education’s role in advancing sustainable solutions. The funding was provided through Second Nature’s Acceleration Fund, first introduced in 2020 to support campus-driven climate action initiatives. Institutions in the organization’s Climate Leadership Network or University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) were eligible to apply.

“Second Nature is proud to recognize 11 outstanding projects that were selected from our largest-ever pool of applicants for Catalyst Grants,” said Tim Carter, President of Second Nature. “We received over 70 applications, reflecting a diverse range of climate action projects and institution types across the country. The volume, creativity and quality of the proposals speaks to the importance and urgency of the work being done by the campuses in our network. Congratulations to the grant recipients and a big thanks to all the applicants for striving to create climate solutions on campus and in their local communities.”

The institutions receiving the 2023 Catalyst Grants are:

• Central Oregon Community College (Bend, OR): Central Oregon Community College will prioritize the development of a campus Climate Action Plan (CAP), utilizing Catalyst Grant funding for personnel to manage the technical and operational elements of CAP creation and support stakeholder engagement.
• Earlham College (Richmond, IN): Earlham College’s Catalyst Grant funding will support the installation of a water line to the campus’ Miller Farm, which includes a production garden, several pollinator gardens, high tunnel, composting, and community garden. 
• Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA): Morehouse College Center of Sustainability and Innovation will survey, monitor and evaluate the college’s overall progress at reducing inputs through single-stream recycling metrics to meet a goal of reducing by 20 percent its landfill contribution. 
• Northeastern University (Boston, MA): Northeastern University’s Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub (CJ&S Hub) is developing an ongoing climate justice experiential learning program in conjunction with a local grassroots environmental justice organization, Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE).
• Paradise Valley Community College (Phoenix, AZ): Paradise Valley Community College will purchase native plants to recharge the water table and sequester carbon in its Food Forest, which offers fresh and healthy food, a living classroom for hands-on teaching experiences, a site for community gatherings, and a flourishing ecosystem. 
• SUNY New Paltz (New Paltz, NY): SUNY New Paltz will use Catalyst Grant funding to bring together diverse stakeholders for engagement workshops to better understand the community’s hopes and aspirations for climate and environmental justice, research best practices, and recommend evidenced-based approaches for implementing climate justice principles.
• Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico): Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Sustainability and Climate Change Plan has a multi-pronged approach that includes building alliances and networks. The school will convene public and private universities in Mexico to form a Network of Mexican Universities for Climate Action to support community engagement, build capacity and assist campuses in setting carbon neutrality goals.
• University at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY): Catalyst Grant funding will support a series of workshops to build sustainable relationships between faculty, staff, students, and community members at University at Buffalo, in order to frame future climate justice work, develop a working group and long-term goals and use seed money from the Catalyst Grant for the initial implementation of projects.
• University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Eau Claire, WI): University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire is using Catalyst Grant funding to build out its carbon offset investment portfolio while simultaneously supporting the development of an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) course for students to learn about the ethics and purpose of utilizing carbon offsets.
• Warren Wilson College (Swannanoa, NC): The Center for Working Lands at Warren Wilson College is restructuring its operations to serve as a training facility for students and regional landowners who are looking to reduce the climate impacts of land management while maintaining economic viability. The Center will provide a menu of climate-mitigating equipment for landowners to test, including an electric Solectrac tractor purchased with Catalyst Grant funding.
• Western Colorado University (Gunnison, CO): Western Colorado University will hire a part-time Climate Justice Intern to ensure attention at all levels to climate justice and equity, involve students in the completion of its Climate Action Plan and deliver three participatory sustainability workshops. 

More information about the awarded projects, as well as a list of schools who submitted proposals, can be found on Second Nature’s website. 

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About Second Nature

Second Nature is committed to accelerating climate action in, and through, higher education. This is accomplished by mobilizing a diverse array of higher education institutions to act on bold climate commitments, to scale campus climate initiatives, and to create innovative climate solutions. Second Nature aims to align, amplify, and bridge the sector’s efforts with other global leaders to advance urgent climate priorities. Learn more at secondnature.org.

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Foster: encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good)

Reciprocal: given, felt, or done in return

Relationship: the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected

Hope: a feeling of trust or a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

On September 11 and 12th Second Nature hosted an event that felt like the words above: a space grounded in sharing, vulnerability, love, accountability, and wisdom. Our first event of this kind, Fostering Reciprocal Relationships for Climate Action: A Midwest Gathering was designed to strengthen our connectivity and relationship-building capacities to increase our collective strength. This is viewed as a critical step in advancing our collective impact around climate change.

During this small conference, attendees from institutions across the region gathered on the Menominee Reservation to center and learn from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Students, sustainability staff and faculty, and diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals learned more about what it means to be in authentic relationships with those who hold different identities, digging deeper into the hard questions around cross-cultural and cross-racial relationships while moving towards the collective goal of climate action.

We felt grounded by the wisdom of those who shared with us: Rebbeca Edler, College of Menominee Nation; Katherine MacHolmes, DEIAJ Associate for Second Nature; Wade Fernandez, international award-winning Menominee musician, and Rosa Cabrera, University of Illinois Chicago. Other panelists and session leads led conversations with openness and humility which allowed the small group to share personal and vulnerable experiences with each other. 

“Let the stories lead and the science follow.”

These words come from Jeff Grignon, whose Menominee Forest tour was a highlight for many. Jeff’s natural ability to speak about the forest as part of us will hold a special place in all participants’ hearts. He compares fungi, critical to the health of the forest, to our internal (heart)work being critical to our ability to do the external work of climate action and social justice. If we have not done the work internally, it will show up in our relationships – tending to what people cannot see is just as important as tending to what they can. 

Jeff also spoke about looking to the plants like we do our human elders, observing them to find the teaching they have for us. To fully experience this, Jeff asked us to go find a group of plants and observe them using all of our senses, to let them teach us. Each of us felt humbled to be welcomed not only onto the Menominee Reservation, but also to the Menominee Forest. This is a place the Menominee have carefully and lovingly stewarded for centuries, which we were given permission to visit during our stay.

For Blythe Coleman-Mumford, Second Nature’s Southeast Climate Programs Manager, the Midwest Gathering was a unique space that fostered dialogues that manifested authenticity and genuine curiosity. The experience encouraged her to sustain a softness, vulnerability and presence that enabled her to connect with people in a way she hadn’t allowed herself to before, or had previously felt unsafe doing. Blythe was deeply encouraged to see the space created by the Midwest Gathering offer an opportunity for growth for non-BIPOC participants, and a site for reflection for BIPOC participants on their own journeys in cross-racial and cross-cultural relationships. The Gathering created a rare chance for both BIPOC and non-BIPOC participants to see each others’ work being done in real time. 

In Katherine’s words, the space felt like it honored everyone in the room. It honored and held each of our diverse identities, and left us with the understanding that a new world is possible. But in order to build it we have to slow down, intentionally come into community with each other, moving beyond our fast-paced culture and develop our ability to hear, see, feel, touch, and taste this newness.

We can do it together. We’ve felt it now.

Thank You

We are extremely grateful to Rebecca Edler and the College of Menominee Nation for their support of this event; to the Menominee who graciously welcomed us to the Menominee Reservation; Wade Fernandez who shared the gift of his music and presence; the staff at the Menominee Casino and Resort who hosted us; Jeff Grignon for sharing his wisdom and teachings about the Menominee Forest; Nicholas Schwitzer of CMN’s Sustainable Development Institute for sharing his photos and videos with us; and to all of the speakers for sharing their time and wisdom:

• Chris Caldwell (College of Menominee Nation)
• Sougata Bardhan (Lincoln University)
• Rosa Cabrera (University of Illinois, Chicago)
• Blythe Coleman-Mumford (Second Nature)
• Paisley Sierra (University of Minnesota, Morris)
• Rebecca Edler (College of Menominee Nation)
• Katherine MacHolmes (Second Nature)

The post Reflections on Second Nature’s First Midwest Gathering appeared first on Second Nature.