Climate resilience is a collective responsibility, and building climate resilience in Spokane relies on more than just physical infrastructure. It requires the active, informed, and empowered participation of the entire community. Our work prioritizes community engagement, especially with those who have been historically marginalized or underserved, so we can better understand the specific challenges facing different parts of our community and implement solutions tailored to meet their unique needs. When Spokane residents are equipped with knowledge and resources, they become powerful agents of change within their own neighborhoods.
Why Community Symposiums?
Community symposiums are one of the many ways the Climate Institute prioritizes community engagement. The symposiums utilize the World Café Method (a technique used to facilitate large group dialogue) to encourage meaningful discussions in an inclusive, collaborative setting. This structured yet flexible approach encourages Spokane residents to share ideas, ask questions, and work together to explore solutions. By fostering connections and building consensus, World Café discussions help unify diverse perspectives into actionable strategies. These events empower participants, strengthen community bonds, and inspire collective action for a more resilient Spokane.
If you have questions about hosting a community symposium or accessing our coded symposium data for a research project, please contact Climate Resilience Program Manager, Dante Jester (jester@gonzaga.edu).
Spokane Extreme Heat Community Symposium
In the summer of 2023, the Climate Institute and University of Washington’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences collaborated to host the Spokane Extreme Heat Community Symposium. This event started with educational presentations from heat and health experts in Spokane and was followed by facilitated small group discussion using the World Café Method. This was an opportunity for the 40+ attendees to debrief from recent heat events and characterize remaining practice-relevant research priorities while identifying existing interventions. This one-day symposium convened Spokane community professionals from a range of backgrounds including academia; state and local agencies; tribal communities; NOAA; and community-based organizations serving BIPOC and low-income communities, and medically at-risk populations.
The key questions posed in this symposium included:
- Who is uniquely susceptible to extreme heat in this community? Why?
- How can we effectively communicate risk to our susceptible populations?
- What activities/interventions have been used to reduce health risks during previous extreme heat events?
- How can collaboration and/or research improve preparedness and response to future extreme heat events?
Smoke Ready Spokane Symposium
With the University of Washington Collaborative on Extreme Event Resilience, the Climate Institute hosted the Smoke Ready Spokane Symposium in July 2024. The symposium utilized the World Café Method and was designed to learn more about the community’s experience with wildfire smoke as well as interventions community members and leaders need to stay healthy during future smoke events. This one-day symposium convened stakeholders including academia; state and local agencies; tribal communities; and community-based organizations serving BIPOC and low-income communities. The results of this symposium are currently under analysis, and initial results will be available in spring of 2025.
East Central Community Resilience Symposium
In October of 2024, the Climate Institute partnered with the Carl Maxey Center and the Gonzaga Department of Public Health to host the East Central Community Resilience Symposium. This event opened with a presentation from Spokane NAACP President Lisa Gardner on the history of resilience in the East Central Spokane neighborhood. This presentation was followed by a facilitated group discussion using the World Café Method. Participants were asked to consider four different key factors impacting the resilience of people in East Central- age, income, health, and employment- and then respond to the following questions:
- How are people in the East Central neighborhood impacted by extreme heat? What are their needs to build resilience?
- How are people in the East Central neighborhood impacted by wildfire smoke? What are their needs to build resilience?
- What role could the Carl Maxey Center fill in responding to these needs?
The results of this symposium are currently being analyzed and will be available in spring of 2025. This work was funded by the Climate and Health Adaptation Initiative, and the results will contribute to planning to establish the Carl Maxey Center as an Level 2 Relief Hub in the Spokane Community Resilience Hub Network.