Growing a Community-Driven Long Term Research Network in a Mountain Community

Abstract:

Place forms a powerful component of identity. As such, engaging with local sense-of-place can play an important role in building community interest in, engagement with, and trust of emotionally-charged information such as climate change science. Connecting scientific research to sense-of-place becomes increasingly critical when it is considered that climate mitigation and adaptation are enacted at a local scale. Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) has begun exploring how conversations about place, identity, and local economy can help inform scientific research directions while providing relevant, actionable information to a mountain community grappling with an uncertain future.

In the Roaring Fork Valley of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, AGCI is collaborating with local county, city, and other community stakeholders to explore questions about climate impacts on mountain water supplies and ecological systems in a way that advances both scientific and stakeholder understanding of these complex topics. These community partnerships are essential in AGCI's establishment and management of a 10-station, long-term research network across the Roaring Fork Valley. This network, iRON, measures soil moisture, soil temperature, rain, RH, air temperature, snow depth, and wind speed. The network offers researchers an uncommon dataset in that it spans the elevational gradient of a geographically diverse watershed. The network also provides highly localized data that can be used to identify climate trends and impacts in a locally specific, actionable way. The majority of funding for this network has been provided by local sources, and because it is rooted in a collaborative goal, the network provides an entree into discussing climate change with the local community.

This presentation will provide an overview of AGCI's experience in engaging community collaboration around a long-term research program. Topics covered include: trust-building and establishing community relationships, garnering financial program support at a local level, areas of successful co-production and visioning, and public outreach and education, as well as reflecting on potential areas for improvement. The goal of this presentation is to provide a thorough and honest reflection on both the challenges and benefits of community engagement.