Climate change is threatening so much of what we hold dear in this region, and state policy does not yet reflect the urgency of the moment. This summer, torrential rain flooded parts of southwestern Connecticut, Long Island, and New York City, destroying homes and fracturing vital transportation infrastructure while record-setting heat waves, tornadoes and hailstorms swept the region. The incoming presidential administration has signaled a recommitment to fossil fuels at the federal level, making the need for state leadership on climate action stronger than ever.
That’s why Save the Sound is proud to announce the launch of its new Henry L. and Grace Doherty Climate and Resilience Institute, a place-based climate change hub for individuals, communities, and decision-makers. Focused on policy and science, institute staff will use newly generated data and metrics to educate the public, mobilize stakeholders, and deploy the nature-based solutions necessary to cut climate pollution, protect our habitats, and stabilize our shorelines.
“Through the generosity of the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation Inc., Save the Sound’s new Institute will use the power of people and science to transform communities, shorelines and rivers affected by the increasingly evident impacts of climate change,” said Laura Wildman, vice president of Ecological Action at Save the Sound.
The priorities of the doherty institute include: advancing climate science,
building public demand for climate action and winning policy change.
The Institute was created thanks to a gift from the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation Inc., whose half-a-million in seed funding will expand the organization’s capacity to accelerate climate change awareness, win policy measures that reduce climate pollution, share science that demonstrates the impacts of climate change, and implement nature-based solutions that will protect ecosystems and neighborhoods.
“The impact of climate change on different ecosystems can vary tremendously. Understanding these differences and the greater threats they pose for Long Island Sound is critical as we hope to mitigate the worst effects of a warming climate,” said James R. Billingsley Jr. of the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation Inc.
“Save the Sound has been defending Long Island Sound and its watersheds from the effects of climate change for many years and in many different ways,” Redfern said. “The creation of the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Climate and Resilience Institute at Save the Sound enables us to deliver our vision of becoming a groundbreaking regional leader in tracking conditions that result from climate change, implementing nature-based solutions, and sharing our work to increase the public demand that effects change. I’m excited to be a part of building this amazing new institute at Save the Sound.”
