This event has ended.
Thank you for making the 2025 Our Climate Futures: Participatory Science on a Great Lake conference an incredible success! The Institute on the Environment - Duluth's annual conference is dedicated to connecting the University of Minnesota - Duluth campus with our community, and creating a space for people and ideas to flourish. Our 2025 conference brought scientists, natural resource professionals, and communities together February 3rd and 4th to share experiences and make new connections. Passionate community members came from around Minnesota and the region to learn about the latest practices, ideas, and strategies surrounding participatory science and community engagement from the region’s leading experts, change agents, and innovators. View the 2025 program or our Fox21 News Feature.
Our Climate Futures: Participatory Science on a Great Lake
Conference description: As climate change intensifies, there is an urgent need to expand environmental monitoring to track trends and extreme events. This work is typically conducted by national agencies and universities. Yet citizens in our region’s rural, urban, and tribal lands also care deeply about climate change and its impacts. Researchers can tap into this energy through participatory science projects that are mutually beneficial, especially if there is equitable representation of local communities in terms of age, socioeconomic status, and racial identity. Aside from increasing data collection, community engagement opens up a wider range of perspectives and lived experiences which modify research questions, address environmental and social inequities, reduce data bias, and build trust between researchers and the community. The goal of this conference is to facilitate community conversations that lead to equitable participatory science projects that lead to impactful adaptation and mitigation action.
Conference dates: February 3rd and 4th, 2025
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Location: The conference will be held at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. Indoor sessions will take place in The Rafters and Garden Room in the Kirby Student Center.
Registration for the Our Climate Futures: Participatory Science on a Great Lake conference is free and open to all community members. Register today!
This conference is hosted by the Institute on the Environment - Duluth. The conference receives funding from The University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is participatory science?
The University of Minnesota Extension defines participatory science as engaging the public in research by formulating questions, collecting data and interpreting results.
Who is this conference open to?
This conference is open to ALL. Students, professors and members of the community are all welcome.
How much does this conference cost to attend?
The Our Climate Futures Conference is free! We are requesting that if you plan to attend one or more of the sessions to please register so that we can get an accurate count for seating and refreshments.
Is this conference wheelchair accessible?
Indoor conference sessions will be held in The Rafters room in the Kirby Student Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth. This room is wheelchair accessible. Accessible restrooms and parking can be found on our campus map. Field trips will occur outdoors and will require traversing over uneven terrain. Concurrent indoor programming will be offered for those who would prefer to attend an indoor session. To request other disability-related accommodations, please reach out to [email protected] two weeks prior to the conference.
What about parking?
If you plan to drive to campus, you may choose to park in pay lot G or use metered parking. Locations for both options can be found on the first page of the campus map.
Accessible parking locations can be found on page 4 of the campus map.
Riding the bus to campus is simple, affordable, and sustainable. Learn how to take the bus to campus here. Kirby Bus Hub locations can be found on the first page of the campus map.