Measuring the Urban Heat Island Effect in Louisville SMART & SUSTAINABLE CAMPUSES CONFERENCE APRIL 4, 2015 BRENT FRYREAR & PAMELA DUMM

Partnership for a Green City

Planning Change Vision – The Partnership will lead the community to achieve environmental quality and social equity Mission – Inspire and promote a sustainable city through action, leadership, innovation, collaboration and measurable progress

Mission-Driven Strategic Plan

Synergies of Partnership Improved education (not just K-12) Shared expertise/Improved capacity building Economies of scale Joint research studies & demonstration projects Coordinated fundraising Peer to peer, not top-down, advocacy

Urban Heat Island Effect in Louisville UHI Georgia Tech Study – Dr. Brian Stone Louisville most rapidly warming city Climate Instability – Dr. Keith Mountain Climate Data Decreasing Urban Tree Canopy – Dr. Margaret Carreiro Louisville is losing trees Economic benefits of trees

Dr. Stone’s UHI Study

Dr. Mountain’s Climate Change Study

Davey Resource Group & Dr. Carriero’s Urban Tree Canopy Study Urban Tree Canopy Findings Entire City/County UTC – 37% Old City Boundary UTC – 26% City/County UTC – 30% (w/o Parks) Recommended Canopy – 40% (American Forests) Canopy higher – wealthier areas Decreases as population density increases Trees provide $560 million in benefits Stormwater, temp moderation, energy savings, carbon mitigation, air quality improvements, increased property values

Enter Dr. David Howarth with Grant Baseline UHI data collection across Louisville 16 Meteorological Stations to place (with Partnership) Urban Heat Island Team Fire Stations Schools – Middle and High Schools Curricular connections Citizen Scientists Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Researcher selected first 16 schools JCPS pulled in Principals

Dr. Howarth Grant Partnership purchased 9 met stations 3 Catholic Schools 6 additional JCPS Schools UHI Youth Summit Scheduled and Completed JCPS installed fence posts Brightside installed posts at parochial schools

Urban Heat Island Youth Summit

16 SCHOOLS PRESENT 170 Students 17 Teachers 24 Presenters & Volunteers TV Weather Man Climatologist GIS Expert Vince DiNoto Dr. Howarth Measuring Impervious Surfaces Trees

Urban Heat Island Youth Summit BREAK OUT SESSIONS UHI & GIS applications Tree Canopy & UHI Impervious surface measurement UHI Statistical Trends/Data Met Stations/Mesonet Stations Alternative Energy & UHI

Students Measure Temperature Temp (heat) Index Barometric Pressure Humidity & Dewpoint Rainfall Wind Wind Chill 10 – 15 min intervals

Data Collection Students download data Summer will record data Summer Interns collect? Send data to Dr. Howarth Partnership creating a data repository for access by schools Baseline UHI data across the county

Knollenberg Foundation Grant $10,000 for Urban Heat Island School Projects $5000 First Place $3000 Second Place $2000 Third Place Students created/submitted proposals If costs exceed award (within reason) schools can petition for additional funding

Grant Recipients $5000 – Ballard High School Sisters (sophomores) pilot testing a cool roof (bench scale to full scale) Science Fair project Going to the national Science Fair in Houston $3000 – Assumption High School Students creating a green wall Strategic addition of trees $2000 – Farnsley Middle School Sixth graders strategic tree planting –priority area for tree canopy South side of building and parking areas

UHI Mitigation Projects Complete by end of school year (May 26) Educational component for each Publicity in print and broadcast media Continuation in the case of the Ballard Students 32 point data logger collecting year round Students learn about real life problem Work with professors/professionals

UHI Youth Summit Fall 2016 September 2016 Same schools invited New & some repeat students Present initial data collected Continue through next school year Collect 12 months of data Met station battery lasts 4-5 years Knollenberg Grant Funding for innovative mitigation projects

Problems or Issues Only 15 schools participated – 24 got Met Stations Things move more slowly than we like Competing priorities with schools & JCPS Curricular alignment Middle and High School Some MS students – over their head Certain schools were upset to be left out

The End Questions? Comments? Thank You!! Brent Fryrear Pamela Dumm Partnership for a Green CityJefferson Community & Technical College “Like” us and follow us on Facebook