Climate Adaptation Center receives $50K to expand outreach

The Climate Adaptation Center will soon be able to expand its reach and science-based education within local communities. 

The Sarasota-based nonprofit recently received a grant for $50,000 from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation that will go toward the organization's annual conference, public outreach and will help support the work done by CAC scientists. 

CEO and Chair of the Climate Adaptation Center Bob Bunting said that providing science-based information to the public sector is something in critical need right now. 

“We have all of these sectors where decision makers need to include climate and weather information in the decision-making,” Bunting said. “That was an acknowledgment on (the Barancik Foundation’s) part, and the impact our organization is already having on the community, which is gratifying. We’re really grateful to them for taking that step that’s going to allow us to do more outreach.”

The CAC is in its fifth year and began during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of that, Bunting said the organization was limited in its reach. 

As the pandemic eased up, the CAC was able to start things like its climate conferences and climate champion awards ceremony. 

This year, the organization held its first public, in-person announcement of its hurricane forecast. Bunting said the forecast was only posted on the CAC website for the first year, then became a Zoom conference. The success of the Zoom conference led to the idea of making the event in-person, which was a success, according to Bunting. 

Some of the grant funding will go toward the CAC’s 4th Annual Florida Climate Conference which will be held at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee from November 14-15. 

Money will also help support the work done by CAC scientists, which the CAC aims to share with local media and other sources. 

The CAC also has a YouTube channel which Bunting said will benefit from some more funding for video production. The channel is used as another outlet to disseminate climate information. 

“It all starts with education,” Bunting said. “The bigger the footprint we have, the more outreach we can do and the more effective outreach we can do.” 

By expanding its network, Bunting hopes the CAC can become more well-known and attend more events and speeches within the community. 

“It all helps us get the word out and the science out, in a way that people can understand it so they can use that information to make better decisions,” Bunting said. 

Bunting also said he has a “special connection” to Longboat Key, having lived there for many years and worked with the town numerous times in the past.

He said he hopes that the CAC can be a resource for communities like Longboat Key and Sarasota — efforts that can be increased given the latest $50,000 grant. 

“I hope that the CAC will be an asset for Longboat Key to help them know what’s coming and to do the things that can be done to lower the risk,” Bunting said. “We’re available to the town … we’re available to private events, homeowners associations, to the town government, to the Chamber of Commerce.”