Skip to main content

Adaptation Planning and Practices for the Rio Grande Basin

The Rio Grande Basin Adaptation Planning and Practices Online (APPO) Course runs from October 5 and finishes November 16, 2021. The course is designed to help participants integrate climate change information into real-world management projects. After completing this course, participants will be able to:

  • Identify locally-important climate change impacts, challenges, and opportunities
  • Develop specific actions to adapt ecosystems to changing conditions
  • Use the Adaptation Workbook to create your own “climate-informed” project
  • Better communicate with partners on key climate change impacts, challenges, and opportunities
  • Access post-training support from the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and Climate Hub staff during project planning and implementation

    • This course follows a five-step process to develop climate change adaptation projects using the online Adaptation Workbook (www.adaptationworkbook.org). The course format will include individual or group work time to complete a single step of the adaptation workbook, followed by a group discussion and lecture to review completed steps and to prepare for the next step.

    The Rio Grande Basin APPO will convene weekly with a presentation (30-45 minutes) that covers each step of the Adaptation Workbook. Participants will then work in teams (with facilitators) to discuss work completed on the step introduced the previous week.

    Connection details Weekly meetings will take place on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 2:30 pm Mountain Time. You will have received Zoom Meeting Room details when you registered. If you have not received these details or need any other help in connecting, please contact Caiti Steele.

    • To be prepared for the first meeting on October 5, participants are encouraged to set up an account on the Adaptation Workbook website. Instructions for creating an account are available in this document Setting up Your Account and Course Project for the Rio Grande Basin APPO. For group projects: a single account should be shared among multiple users for group projects because it is not possible for multiple users to share different projects with one another.

    • Topics:

      • Icebreaker and introductions
      • Course objectives, instructors, and agenda
      • Introduction to the Adaptation Workbook online tool
      • Developing an adaptation project: Defining project goals and objectives
      • What you need to know for Step 1
      • Discussion Session: Introduce your project to a small group

      Assignment 1: Due Monday at 1:00 pm before the next lecture.

    • Topics:

      • Considering climate change impacts and vulnerabilities in your projects
      • Resources for understanding climate change impacts and climate vulnerability
      • What you need to know for Step 2
      • Discussion: Step 2 - Climate Change Impacts

      Assignment 2: Due Monday at 1:00 pm before the next lecture.

    • Topics:

      • Climate change impacts in the Rio Grande Basin - Dagmar Llewellyn, Bureau of Reclamation
      • Continue Discussion: Step 2 - Climate Change Impacts
      • Identifying management challenges and opportunities for your project
      • Re-considering and revising management goals/objectives in light of climate challenges
      • What you need to know for Step 3

      Assignment 3: Due Monday at 1:00 pm before the next lecture.

      • Set aside 2-4 hours for completion, as time will vary based upon your project.​
      • Complete Step 3 of the Adaptation Workbook: Evaluate objectives considering climate impacts.
      • Complete Homework 3 at the end of Step 3.
      • Review the list of Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for your focus area (agriculture, forests, urban, or forested watersheds). Details on menus for other focus areas (several are in development) are available here.

    • Topics:

      • Discussion: Recap Step 3 (Challenges and Opportunities)
      • Adaptation concepts: resisting change, enhancing resilience, and facilitating transitions
      • Developing specific actions for climate-change adaptation
      • What you need to know for Step 4

      Assignment 4: Due Monday at 1:00 pm before the next lecture.

    • Topics:

      • Discussion: Recapping Step 4 (Adaptation Actions)
      • Tools for measuring effectiveness of implemented adaptation actions
      • Capitalizing on existing data, inventory or monitoring processes/partnerships
      • What you need to know for Step 5

      Assignment 5: Due Monday at 1:00 pm before the next lecture.

      Check-in with instructors - each project team or individual will be contacted by a course instructor

    • Topics:

      • Participant adaptation project presentations
      • Next steps for moving toward implementation
      • How we can help you in the future?
      • Course evaluations