In an effort to include diverse and equitable community input on the Climate Action Plan, Douglas County Sustainability is conducting targeted focus groups to gauge how community members throughout the county experience climate impacts. Input shared from these sessions combined with narrivatives of lived experiences collected by community members and survey data will guide policy and strategy recommendations in the Douglas County Climate Action Plan.

A focus group with Indigenous community members is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Tommaney Library, 2450 Creek Ave., on the Haskell Indian Nations University campus. Dinner will be provided. To register, please visit: https://arcg.is/0TiPD80. Registration assists the team in planning for dinner.

In January 2023, an additional focus group centered on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) perspectives will be offered. Alex Kimball Williams is working with Douglas County Sustainability to facilitate both focus groups.

These sessions additionally provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions or learn more from the Douglas County Sustainability team regarding local climate data, policy and planning. Students and college faculty may have special interest in attending, as well as community members who have varying experiences with severe weather events such as flooding, tornadoes, drought, winter weather, or severe thunderstorms.

For more information about the Douglas County Climate Action Plan, visit https://dgcoks.gov/climate.