What's New at the Institute
5000 Signatures Urge More Water for the Delta |
Celebrating Arizona's 100th - River of the Month Series |
Teton County, Idaho - More Vacant Lots Than People |
Watershed Press Release March 22, 2012 – On the heels of World Water Day (March 22nd), the Redford Center and Kontent Films are pleased to announce the World Premiere of WATERSHED: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital on March 24, 2012 at the National Museum of American History at 3 pm. The film will be introduced by Robert Redford and will be followed by a panel discussion on the urgency of the problem in the Colorado River Basin and what can be done. Click here to read the release. |
Home Grown: Land use planning evolves and adapts in an unlikely corner of Wyoming The Sonoran Institute’s work in Wyoming is featured in this new article, Home Grown – Land Use Planning Evolves and Adapts in an Unlikely Corner of Wyoming. By Sam Western. Read the article here. |
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Kathy Borgen champions causes that help protect, care for, and nurture a love of our planet. She is also passionate about the work of the Institute
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Where We Work Westwide - Training & Leadership
Training and Leadership
The Sonoran Institute offers community leaders and engaged citizens training courses and workshops, networking resources for peer learning and sharing of information, and on-the-ground technical assistance, coaching and project facilitation. The objectives of this work are to:
- Increase individuals’ knowledge of growth management, conservation and sustainability principles.
- Improve group, organizational and community leadership skills.
- Increase skills in collaboration and public participation.
- Promote best practices for educating communities about public lands conservation and/or regionalism.
- Build an active and informed constituency for local, state and national policy reform.
Our signature multi-day training sessions allow participating teams to have significant time to work as a group, develop common goals and problem solve.
Planning for People & Wildlife Workshop
On June 7th and 8th, 2011, a workshop was held at the Best Western Great Northern Hotel in Helena, Montana to provide wildlife managers, elected officials, planners, citizens, rural landowners, and the conservation community with the tools they need to effectively plan for development while protecting wildlife and their habitat, and conserving ecologically important lands.
Community Design Academy
A 12-week course presented annually in Pima County, Arizona, for those with an interest in quality design and development and in learning ways to positively influence the future of their community.
Community Energy Futures Institute
A four-day workshop for community teams to learn and share ideas about planning and implementing sustainable energy strategies in their communities.
Western Community Stewardship Forum
A partnership of the Sonoran Institute and the National Association of Counties, WCSF offers training and support to help rural county officials and leaders manage growth through innovative, community-based land-use decisions and solutions.
Western Leadership Institute
Training for community members engaged in local planning and growth management efforts to help them advance collaborative decisions to protect the places they love and shape their community’s future.
Advanced Topical Workshops
One or two-day specialized sessions offering detailed information about smart growth and conservation tools. Contact the Training & Community Leadership Director to inquire about hosting one of these workshops in your community.
• Rural Community Design Workshop
• Planning for Wildlife
• Community Visioning and Public Engagement
• City/County Collaboration
• Planning for Hazards
• Regional Collaboration
• Public Lands Land Disposal
Morongo Basin
The Sonoran Institute is working in the Mojave Desert of Southern California as a member of the Morongo Basin Open Space Group to protect natural landscapes and open space through regional conservation and land use planning.
Planning in the West Webinars: UHI Presenters
Sign Up >> Mitigating the Urban Heat Island
Date: April 25th, 2012
Coupling rising temperatures with higher surface temperatures has the potential to render many areas within the Intermountain West region uncomfortable, if not dangerous, without aggressive air conditioning usage and consequent increases in energy consumption. As is often the case, the risks associated with higher temperatures impact the most sensitive populations, including children, the elderly, those with health conditions and low-income residents. This webinar features local adaptation responses from communities that have enacted urban forestry resolutions, heat relief networks, and used cutting-edge technology to combat rising temperatures.
Presenters
Dr. Sharon Harlan, Associate Professor of Sociology and Senior Sustainability Scientist at Arizona State University
Sharon L. Harlan is an associate professor of sociology and senior sustainability scientist at Arizona State University. Her recent work is on interdisciplinary problems of social and environmental inequity brought about by rapid urbanization in the Phoenix, AZ, metropolitan region. She is the principal investigator of a project examining urban vulnerability to climate change as a dynamic feature of coupled natural and human systems that differentially place landscapes and people at risk from extreme heat. This four-year study continues her collaborative, interdisciplinary research on spatial variation in the urban heat island and the implications of climate change for heat-related health inequalities in urban neighborhoods. She also directs the Phoenix Area Social Survey, which examines people's values, attitudes, and behaviors concerning the local environment and the impact of income and ethnic residential segregation on social and physical environmental inequalities.
Tim Cole, Homeless Programs Coordinator, City of Phoenix
Tim Cole is the Homeless Programs Coordinator for the City of Phoenix's Human Services Department. He strives to improve the quality of life for Phoenix residents through innovative social services, educational and victim advocacy programs, collaborations and partnerships. In 2011, Tim received the Maricopa Association of Governments Star Award for his work with the Watkins Emergency Shelter and with community providers of homeless services.
Marco Velotta, Planner, City of Las Vegas Planning Department
Marco Velotta is a member of the City of Las Vegas Office of Sustainability and assists with the implementation of the City's Sustainability initiative. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2006 with a BS in Geography, Math minor and a Master's in City Planning in 2008. Marco presently assists with the management of the City's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant allocation, the City's Green Building Program, and implementation of the City's Sustainable Energy Strategy. He also works closely with HomeFree Nevada, the state's Home Performance with Energy STAR program, which is partially funded by the Green Building Program and the Recovery Act.
Dave Cornoyer, Planner, City of Las Vegas Planning Department
Dave Cornoyer is a Planner with the City of Las Vegas Planning and Development Department. He has been with the department since 2006 and has worked in a variety of planning functions including inspections, sustainability, case writing, and long range planning. He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from UNLV.
Sheri Roese, Emerald Cities CEO/Founder
Sheri Roese is founder and CEO of Emerald Cities, a Scottsdale based eco-company that manufactures solar reflective nano-engineered Ultra Thin High Performance Concrete designed for coating hot asphalt surfaces such a parking lots, school yards, crosswalks, bike lanes, and other large public areas. Sheri is a 35 year veteran in the architectural surface design field and is known all over the world for her projects.
Planning in the West Webinars: Adapting to Rising Temperatures Series
With the release of Planning for Climate Change in the West, a policy focus report which explores opportunities for local governments to create resilient communities using climate mitigating and adaptative land use planning policies, Western Lands and Communities is continuing to provide information and research that facilitates the implementation of climate-related policies at the local level.
Planning for Climate Change in the West, which includes a survey of government staff and elected officials in the Intermountain West, made it clear that sustainability and efficiency measures like managing water supplies, reducing energy consumption, increasing transportation efficiency, and protecting open space resonates more broadly with western audiences than planning solely for climate change.
For this reason, Western Lands and Communities is hosting a series of technical webinars that address sustainability strategies that save money, conserve resources, improve public health, respond to climate change and make communities more attractive places to live.
Each webinar provides updates on new research, theories and best practices, educates local planners about land use planning policy approaches to cope with extreme heat events, and highlights real-world practices from peer western communities. Webinar participants have the opportunity to interact with professionals and planners from communities that have successfully implemented relevant plans, programs and ordinances. Many of these practices are featured in SCOTie, the Successful Communities Online Toolkit information exchange (www.scotie.org).
| Adapting to Rising Temperatures Series - Spring/Summer 2012 |
| >>Mitigating the Urban Heat Island - View Now - Aired April 25th |
| >>Managing the Impacts of Wildfires - June 27, 2012 |
| >>Short-term Responses to Drought - July 2012 |
Sign Up >> Managing the Impacts of Wildfires
Date: June 27, 2012
More people are living and building homes at the edge of forested areas while management practices have historically excluded the important natural ecological role of fire, which has resulted in increasingly dense and fire-prone forests. As we have seen time and time again, wildfire can be catastrophic to people and property in the American West.
In this webinar, we will address the concept of defensible space around homes, incorporating fire-resistant building and landscaping materials, as well as focusing on prevention measures to manage growth in the wildland-urban interface.
Short-term Responses to Drought
Date: July 2012
Coming soon
View Now >> Mitigating the Urban Heat Island
Aired: April 25th, 2012
Coupling rising temperatures with higher surface temperatures has the potential to render many areas within the Intermountain West region uncomfortable, if not dangerous, without aggressive air conditioning usage and consequent increases in energy consumption. As is often the case, the risks associated with higher temperatures impact the most sensitive populations, including children, the elderly, those with health conditions and low-income residents. This webinar features local adaptation responses from communities that have enacted urban forestry resolutions, heat relief networks, and used cutting-edge technology to combat rising temperatures.
Webinar: Mitigating the Urban Heat Island-Aired April 25, 2012
Coupling rising temperatures with higher surface temperatures has the potential to render many areas within the Intermountain West region uncomfortable, if not dangerous, without aggressive air conditioning usage and consequent increases in energy consumption. As is often the case, the risks associated with higher temperatures impact the most sensitive populations, including children, the elderly, those with health conditions and low-income residents. This webinar features local adaptation responses from communities that have enacted urban forestry resolutions, heat relief networks, and used cutting-edge technology to combat rising temperatures.
- Dr. Sharon Harlan, Associate Professor of Sociology and Senior Sustainability Scientist at
Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - Tim Cole, Homeless Programs Coordinator, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Marco Velotta and Dave Cornoyer, City of Las Vegas Planning Department, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Sheri Roese, Emerald Cities CEO/Founder, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Webinar Presentations:
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Resources:
- SCOTie case study: Phoenix, AZ Heat Relief Network
- SCOTie case study: Las Vegas, NV Urban Forestry Resolution
- When a Parking Lot is So Much More. (2012, March 25). New York Times, p. A27.
- Emerald Cities USA: http://www.emeraldcoolpavements.com/
- EPA: Policy Actions for Mitigating UHI
- Is There a Worldwide Parking Problem? (2012, April 30). BBC, online.