Research and Evaluation Task Force: October 2021

In Attendance

Maryalice Crofton, Kate Klibansky, Luke Shorty, Morgan Rielly, Esperanza Stancioff, Stacie Haines, Sarah Curran, Mark Battle, Lisa Phelps

Members gathered over Zoom at 1pm on October 15. New members, returning members, and guest Sarah Curran (Deputy Director of  Climate Planning and Community Partnerships in the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future) introduced themselves to the group. New Task Force Members include Esperanza Stancioff and Mark Battle. Esperanza Stancioff is a University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant professor focusing on climate change adaptation, and Mark Battle is a Bowdoin College professor of physics studying the carbon cycle and climate change. 

The task force reviewed the agenda and then moved on to project updates.

Kate Klibansky has interviewed 86 people with an interest or stake in Climate Corps in order to better understand how Climate Corps members could assist state agencies in achieving their goals related to Maine Won’t Wait. The writing phase of this project is now beginning, with a focus on developing the organizational structure. However, there are still a few organizations that the Task Force noted would be worth reaching out to and receiving input from: Wabanaki Reach, First Light Learning Journey, and New Mainers.

A brief survey has been sent to potential Climate Corps hosts to gauge the budgets necessary to support the program. This survey closes on October 28.

It is clear there is no shortage of projects for potential Climate Corps members to participate in. In fact, we will need to cut down the list and prioritize where the Corps should focus especially in the beginning of the program, so to not overload the programs and reduce the efficacy of each project. This will be the job of the Task Force, taking into consideration which programs have the potential for reaching the communities most in need, the social impact, the environmental impact, and whether there are already programs or organizations within this space that would be able to and willing to take on a Climate Corps.

Denise Lord has noted interest in finding someone to hold the banner for a Housing Climate Corps, and there is an interested institution looking into funding for a Coastal Zone Climate Corps.

The Task Force and Kate are intent on following through with making this an equitable program and will continue reaching out to leaders within the Tribal Nations and New Mainer communities to work together on climate adaptation and mitigation.

Following the conversation of program updates, the group spent time running through the list of potential programs excel document, not in detail of each project, but the overarching structure and organization of the information so the group can look through it and give advice.

Task Force members are to send 5-10 priority projects that they believe would be most impactful for equity, social health, economic health, and climate change by October 31, 2021. The group is set on steering clear of giving the Environment and Natural Resources Committee a laundry list of projects. The group and Sarah agreed that priority projects should also be centered around the alignment to Maine Won’t Wait. Along those same lines, when it comes to planning programs, the measurements of success should be community friendly, easy to gather, and meaningful.

The group then went on to a brief Q&A with Sarah Curran. Sarah agrees that the list of projects should not be lengthy and should be built around the buckets/strategies of Maine Won’t Wait, integrating both the themes that are seen on the ground through Kate’s interviews, and the themes within the Climate Action Plan. One of these main themes that is already easy to see is that small towns really need the help, especially in tackling resilience plans.

Sarah was asked if using En-Roads seemed like a good option for narrowing down the projects, but the group and Sarah agreed that this likely would not be the best measure for what the group is trying to capture. Many of the projects are resilience related rather than carbon reductions related, so the measurements of success would likely not be quantifiable in that way.

Representative Rielly offered to speak with Senator Brenner and Representative Tucker to gather input on what they would like to see included in the study. This will happen after the input is given back to Kate from the Task Force on October 31.

The group decided that coming up with and receiving feedback on an organizational structure and a report outline should wait until after input is given from the potential projects file. However, the group agreed that included in the report should be a discussion on the ways that service is a pathway to employment and a healthier society, and builds community and the workforce.

The task force also acknowledged that there should not be a singular carrier for a Corps because the work is so varied and broad, that there is no state agency that, at this point, is willing to take on any aspect of a Corps due to limited financial and human resources. This work will likely end up with a conversation about coalitions and more scoping meetings for potential branches of the Climate Corps, due to the need for inclusivity and collaboration on this broad spectrum of projects.

The Task Force reviewed potential cohort trainings that would be pertinent to ALL Climate Corps members, regardless of the branch they are affiliated with.

The potential trainings are:

  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Climate Justice (Maine Youth for Climate Justice?)
  • Climate Change in Maine
  • Nonviolent Communication/Conflict Resolution/How to have difficult conversations
  • Maine Tribal History
  • Emergency Management

The goal of these trainings is mostly information, whereas the skill development and trainings affiliated with specific tasks would come from hosts. These cohort trainings all are important for personal development and in giving everyone an overarching background of information in climate change and their work with the purpose of being able to articulate information effectively to the public. There is potential for organizations to collaborate on these trainings, such as the Association of State Wetland Managers and Maine Youth for Climate Justice.

There is also potential that ASC’s Climate Committee may be pulling together a nationwide training in the future that would be accepted and used across all state Climate Corps programs.

For other, more specific training, the Task Force and Volunteer Maine should work to identify potential certifications/trainings that would be pertinent for Climate Corps members in their roles and as a benefit to their participation in Climate Corps.

The Task Force discussed community input meetings in December that would allow the public to learn about and voice their thoughts on a Climate Corps. Volunteer Maine will organize the virtual events, being sure to personally invite the individuals and organizations that have been interviewed and experts in the field, but sending out an open invitation throughout the state. For those who are unable to attend the virtual meeting will still be able to access the report and give feedback to Volunteer Maine directly. The meeting will include breakout groups and opportunities to provide feedback for the report. The draft report will be shared prior to the event.

The meeting concluded at 2:25pm.

Next meeting is Friday, November 12 at 1pm.