At Climate Smart Missoula, efforts to build resiliency - the capacity, connections, and resources needed to cope with and thrive amidst climate impacts - have been at our core since our launch back in 2015.

Since then, we've developed programs with a wide array of community partners, from Missoula Public Health to social service providers, to reach more of our community with the resources they need to stay physically and mentally healthy and more resilient.  With a focus on those most at risk, including marginalized members of our community, low-income neighbors, kids, the elderly, and those with health conditions, we know that if we build solutions that work for the most vulnerable, ALL of us benefit.

Learn more about our local resiliency efforts below and via the linked web pages. If you would like to support this work, contact Amy Cilimburg or Donate Now. 

Wildfire Smoke & Heat

Our "Summer Smart" initiative was one of our very first programs: a collaborative effort to help our community "weather the weather". Since then, our work has expanded as efforts to prepare for and respond to impacts like wildfire smoke and extreme heat extend beyond just the summer months. Our programs are aimed at educating and providing resources, focusing on those most at risk. This involves:

• Helping our community understand health impacts and what we can do when it's smoky, hot, or both
• Maintaining resources on how to clean indoor air at home, through HEPA portable air cleaners and DIY fan + filter options 
• Hosting a centralized clearing house of information at montanawildfiresmoke.org
• Providing advice and public infrastructure (like shade shelters) to stay cool during increasingly hot summers 
• Developing partnerships to reach and support those most vulnerable

Health and Climate

In both our Summer Smart and Climate Ready Missoula initiatives, the human health impacts associated with climate change are integral components. In addition to this work, over the past several years we've: 

• Centralized information on the health impacts of wildfire smoke 
• Created materials to stay healthy when it's smoky and/or hot
• Begun conversations about addressing the mental health impacts of climate change 
• Worked with the Invest Health team to advocate for land use planning that promotes healthier communities
  
• Hosted a Health and Climate Summit 
  
• Co-hosted a Climate, Health, and Humanities Series

Resiliency Planning

Since the summer of 2018, Climate Smart Missoula, Missoula County, and the City of Missoula have been jointly leading Climate Ready Missoula: Building Resiliency in Missoula County.  The plan includes 77 strategies to build resiliency in Missoula County given climate change, and it was adopted by both the City and County in May of 2020.

Climate Smart Missoula has continued to co-lead the process by: 

• Serving on the Climate Ready Missoula leadership team 
• Steering the Implementation Team, a 17-person advisory committee tasked with guiding implementation of the plan 
• Leading the Wildfire Smoke, Heat, and Health working group 
• Co-leading the Buildings, Land Use, and Transportation working group 

Visit climatereadymissoula.org for more information on the specifics of the plan. 

Urban Forestry

In the fall of 2023, Trees for Missoula officially became a program of Climate Smart Missoula. This long-running and beloved community effort to steward and strengthen our urban forest and green infrastructure is all the more critical given the many climate and health benefits that urban trees provide.

Via Trees for Missoula, we host volunteer planting and pruning events, offer community education around the importance of trees, and collaborate closely with the City of Missoula's Urban Forestry department to support a more robust and equitable tree canopy across our community.

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