This spring, the Gonzaga Climate Center, in collaboration with The Lands Council, Spokane City Council Sustainability Action Subcommittee, 350 Spokane, and Kris Crocker, was awarded a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization’s (NOAA) National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) to conduct a community science urban heat island mapping campaign in the summer of 2022. This opportunity will allow the City of Spokane to study the impacts of extreme heat in Spokane and develop local strategies to alleviate the impacts of heat on the community. The second phase of the project will then be to conduct a community survey to understand perceptions of urban heat and extreme heat events in Spokane. Using these quantitative and qualitative data, we can begin to make both short- and long-term plans for extreme heat events to be more resilience to our changing climate. Read the press release.
How can you help?
The Gonzaga Climate Center and our partners are seeking volunteers to help collect environmental data about the hottest and coolest places in our region during an upcoming heat wave this summer. Data collected by volunteers during the joint one-day heat mapping campaign will be used to develop temperature and heat index maps of Spokane and help address heat-related vulnerabilities across the region.
What will volunteers do?
Volunteers are needed to drive along predetermined routes in Spokane area over three separate one-hour periods during a hot day. Volunteers will use a simple data-collection device attached to the vehicle. You can also volunteer as a navigator and help direct drivers’ turns along their route.
Are there any requirements to volunteer?
Drivers will need a valid driver’s license, auto insurance, and access to a vehicle. In addition to the three hours of data collection, volunteers will first be asked to attend a one-hour Volunteer Training Session, complete a short knowledge quiz, and sign a liability waiver. Based on previous campaigns, volunteers will spend a total of about 4 to 6 hours, though the majority of time (~3.5 hours) will occur on the selected campaign day.
On what day will the heat mapping campaign occur?
That will depend on the weather forecast. Heat mapping is best done on a hot temperature and clear-skied day. Using historical weather patterns, and support from the National Weather Service, the target campaign date for Spokane is Saturday, July 16. While weather does change, this selected campaign date will be confirmed about one week prior, as forecasts become more reliable.
Because we must wait for the heat—and the fact that summer is such a busy time—we need to assemble an “on-call” roster of volunteers -- which means that we’ll want more people signing up than we need. We will confirm your participation about one week prior to the campaign once we finalize the date.
Please note that signing up does not commit you to the project, rather the process will begin by building out a roster of potential volunteers, and confirmation will occur about one week in advance.