How can IU grad students help solve climate change issues? A new Indiana project will help

What can Hoosier cities do to lessen the effects of climate change? 

How can universities better prepare college students for real-life positions in sustainability and environmental departments across communities and organizations?

An expanded project at Indiana University is providing answers to both questions. It connects graduate students with officials in Indiana communities, doing everything from collecting data on greenhouse gas emissions to developing a comprehensive climate action plan.

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The McKinney Midwest Climate Project currently pairs IU undergraduate and graduate students with communities to collect data, establish protocols and begin programs to lower heat-trapping gases emitted by local businesses and industries. While on the job, the students gain skills and knowledge that will help them land future jobs and excel in the positions.

The McKinney Midwest Climate Project is part of IU's Environmental Resilience Institute, which is tasked with preparing Indiana and the Midwest for environmental changes affecting people, cities and businesses. 

In October 2021, a five-year, $1.25 million grant from the McKinney Family Foundation was formally approved to fund the McKinney Midwest Climate Project.

The project's goal is to help Indiana communities become more resilient by adapting their strategies to meet climate changes, according to Sarah Mincey, managing director for ERI and director of the Integrated Program for the Environment at IU.

So far the McKinney project is pairing students from IU with cities, businesses and planning commissions for work during the summer. The goal is to maintain about a third of the summer fellows in academic-year placements and to partner with another university or college in Indiana in 2023, adding a new college each year.

McKinney fellows help participating communities find strategies to reduce Hoosier cities' contributions to climate change, Mincey said. While completing a greenhouse gas inventory and then developing and implementing a plan to lower emissions is essential, Mincey said it's important to also develop strategies to adapt actions that can't be eliminated. 

Questions that need to be addressed, Mincey said, include: "What can we do to get ready for hotter temperatures? How do we adjust to changes that we can't stop at this point?"

Working with the cities

From Gary to Evansville, many cities in Indiana have had students work with community and government officials to find ways to harness solar, wind energy, better build transportation for people, reduce energy use and improve air quality.

Lauren Clemens, now assistant director of sustainability with Bloomington's economic and sustainable development department, was one of the graduate students in the first year of the ERI program in 2017. Clemens worked as a water quality fellow with the state's Sierra Club in Indianapolis for about 12 weeks.

Now Clemens has graduate students helping her with the city's sustainability programs and projects. One of the fellows worked on the city's greenhouse gas inventory, another reached out to local businesses to discover what sustainability issues they faced. This year Clemens will have another fellow who will help develop a workforce charging program for electric vehicles. 

"It's a workforce development program," Clemens told The Herald-Times, adding the program benefits both the community and the graduate student. 

The students work 40 hours each week, which is a benefit for any governmental unit or agency. ERI does a lot of the initial hiring process. In return, the student gets hands-on experience, allowing them to develop their skills before looking for a full-time job after college.

"It's a low-barrier way to get connected with motivated, well trained students," Clemens said.

Suzanne Kawamleh, one of the McKinney fellows last year, worked with a six-person team of Gary officials to develop a climate action plan using data from a 2019 greenhouse gas inventory. Kawamleh and the others established different strategies to lower greenhouse gas emissions, involving both residents and businesses in the northwestern Indiana city.

The plan tied environmental mitigation with economic benefits, looking for opportunities to build better systems and procedures. That made it more attractive to businesses and agencies.

The result was a 132-page report that dealt with not only industrial emissions but also transportation, energy use at offices and homes and ways to better build and renovate buildings to be more energy efficient.

The goal was not only to help Gary prepare for changes in Indiana's climate but also to improve the lives of people who live and work in the city, Kawamleh explained. Asthma and other respiratory illnesses are common in the area, she said.

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Beyond that, Kawamleh said the report looked at the city's economic vitality, seeking to improve the community for workers and residents. Ways to encourage industries to utilize solar and wind energy were included, highlighting both the economic benefits and better living conditions for residents.

In addition to helping Gary, the fellowship gave Kawamleh real-world experience in applying what she'd studied at IU, giving a different perspective from the academic world. Her interest in working in Gary was due to the fact that she grew up in Valparaiso, not far away.

"I plan to apply again this year," she said about the program. "It was a good experience. The team in Gary was great to work with."

Through the McKinney Midwest Climate Program, Kawamleh saw firsthand how local and state government agencies work, oftentimes negotiating to reach a solution. The experience gave her professional skills she hopes to use when working with future teams on similar projects.

"I know that no matter what I do I want to be involved in environmental stuff at the local and state level," she said. "There were jobs that I didn’t know even existed … and I’m getting some of the skills I never would have had otherwise."

Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com, 812-331-4359 or @ckugler on Twitter.