Shippensburg University and the Center for Land Use and Sustainability, in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the South Mountain Partnership, and Michaux State Forest, is launching a campus/community task force as one of its first initiatives under the Campus Climate Commitment.

The task force will engage stakeholders from around the region.

On April 22, 2020, University President Laurie A. Carter signed the commitment to develop a comprehensive Climate Action Plan by 2023 that will use regional planning efforts to integrate carbon neutrality planning with climate adaptation and capacity-building.

“We are responsible to leave the Earth in a better place for future generations, but we’re not on course to do that well right now. We need to train the next generation to be leaders [in climate resiliency]. How we treat our environment shows how we care for one another, which is all the more relevant during this pandemic,” said President Carter in a video message to the campus community.

The university’s Climate Action Plan will include selecting a target date for achieving carbon neutrality on campus, as well as means to reduce greenhouse gases, and the development of a resilience assessment that will identify indicators and areas of climate vulnerability in the community.

There will be pieces related to the campus as well as the greater community.

“One of the first initiatives will be to launch a campus/community task force, working with DCNR and the South Mountain Partnership to convene folks from around the region to identify the pieces of community resiliency that are most important to them,” said Dr. Claire Jantz, who is co-chair of the Campus Climate Commitment effort with professor Dr. Russ Hedberg.

It is the community piece that drew the South Mountain Partnership to the university’s effort.

“The South Mountain Partnership is involved to bring our network of more than 40 partners together to have a dialogue about climate change in the region and how we can work together to address it,” said Katie Hess, Director of the SMP. “In my experience, good planning is always rooted in meeting people where they are, so we will have broader conversations with the healthcare community, the agricultural community, the historic preservation community, and others to make this happen.”

In the coming year, Shippensburg University and its partners will convene webinars, discussion groups, and other virtual meetings to begin crafting the Campus Climate Plan and organizing the Campus/Community Task Force.

Dr. Hedberg encourages any student, alumnus or community member to join them.

“Be hopeful. We created this problem, which means we can solve it. We can work together toward making a better future. Go make it happen!” he added.

Click Here to learn more about the effort, and find out how you can get involved.

The South Mountain Partnership covers Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, and York counties.

The South Mountain Landscape Initiative is one of several regional conservation landscape initiatives across the state to protect, restore and promote natural assets to collaborate on actions around sustainability, conservation, community revitalization and recreation and tourism.

For more information on similar initiatives in other parts of the state, visit DCNR’s Conservation Landscapes webpage.

            For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the South Mountain Partnership website.

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP Posts Proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Regulations Covering Power Plants 4 Weeks Before Sept. 15 EQB Meeting

-- DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee Holds Virtual Meeting Aug. 25 On Outlines Of 2021 Climate Impacts Assessment & Climate Action Plan

-- DEP Local Climate Action Program Helps Community Leaders Address Climate Change In 139 Municipalities

-- New PUC Report Indicates Severe Storms Drive Record Number of Power Outage Events Across Pennsylvania

-- Agenda Added - Senate Environmental Committee Holds Aug. 25 Hearing On Carbon Pollution Reduction Program For Power Plants

-- Agenda Added: House Environmental Committee To Hold Aug. 24 Hearing On Carbon Pollution Reduction Program For Power Plants

-- Report: Clean Energy Is A Leading Creator Of New Quality Jobs In Pennsylvania; Pandemic Caused A 16.2% Drop In Clean Energy Jobs In PA

-- PA Conservative Energy Forum Hosts Town Hall Supporting Bipartisan Community Solar Bills; $2 Billion In Investments Waiting For Passage

-- Report: PA Colleges, Universities Get High Marks For Renewable Energy Use

-- Germantown Daycare First Solar Project Financed By Philadelphia C-PACE

-- Pennsylvania Gets Charged Up For Electric Vehicles At EV Policy Virtual Bootcamp

-- Ohio River Valley Institute Announced To Promote Sustainable Economic Strategies In Ohio Valley, Western PA

[Posted: August 17, 2020]

8/24/2020