Lake Forest Park committee finalizes Climate Hub opening, outlines events and outreach push

The Lake Forest Park Climate Action Committee confirmed plans for a public opening of the Climate Hub on Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to noon and set public tabling at the local farmers market on Sept. 14 and Oct. 5 as part of outreach and volunteer recruitment efforts.

Committee members said the hub’s mural is finished and that organizers have ordered a large bulletin board to display rotating content and partner information at the hub. The board will measure about 14 feet wide by 4 feet tall and will include climate-stripe graphics, partner “bubbles” with QR codes, and other printed materials ahead of the opening.

The hub’s online presence will be anchored by an Instagram account, lfp.climate.hub, which had roughly 91 followers at the time of the meeting. The committee discussed using Instagram to collect signups and sharing a link tree or simple landing page as an interim website. Committee members also discussed reserving a web domain (suggested name: LFP Climate Hub) and eventually adding a dedicated website to host signups and a donation link.

“We’re hoping for as many people as we can,” a committee member said when describing the Oct. 12 opening, which will include a ribbon cutting, light refreshments and children’s activities such as a wildlife-finding game and salmon-coloring (the group said they have 2,000 salmon coloring templates). The group expects about 10–12 informational tables from local partners, including stewardship and stream- or watershed-related groups, school clubs, and civic organizations.

The committee described design details for the first bulletin-board content: a left-side explanation of climate basics and local emissions sources, a center area showing partner organizations, and a right-side panel with contact information and QR codes linking to partner sites and signup sheets. Gary, a local printmaker the committee expects to use, agreed to print preliminary material at cost.

The group is also pursuing a longer-term digital resource: a touchscreen display and GIS-based mapping interface to live at the Climate Hub. That map would let visitors explore local climate-related datasets — such as tree inventory layers, past weather records, and project locations — and link visitors to partners and signups. The committee reported working with Thriving Earth Exchange (an American Geophysical Union program) to scope a 12–18 month project to help organize content and potentially recruit a student or intern with GIS experience.

Megan, the Thriving Earth Exchange project lead, was described as coordinating expert connections and managing the community project. Committee members said they have identified at least one prospective student with relevant GIS experience who may be interviewed for that role.

On staffing and financing, members said fundraising and a stable web presence are priorities. The group reported an unsuccessful grant application for hardware; members discussed setting up a donation mechanism and eventually forming a 501(c)(3) or another fiscal sponsorship to accept contributions for hub infrastructure and programming.

The committee also discussed advocacy aimed at the city: members plan to encourage residents to provide input at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Oct. 20, when the council will discuss a climate manager job description. The meeting was described as a venue for public comment and feedback rather than a hiring decision.

Youth and volunteer engagement were recurring themes. The committee introduced a new member, Sandra Webber, a high school sophomore who said she hopes to help recruit younger residents and school clubs. The committee also noted that a longtime member, Jessica, had submitted a resignation.

Immediate operational items and dates confirmed during the meeting included a work party to prepare hub materials on Monday, Sept. 8 (evening, with a volunteer window discussed at about 6 p.m.), farmers-market tabling on Sunday, Sept. 14 (shifts discussed including a morning and a noon–2 p.m. shift), and a second market date on Oct. 5. Committee members assigned outreach leads for inviting neighboring-city climate groups, school clubs and local stewardship partners.

Organizers emphasized that much of the hub’s early content will be changeable and community-driven: the bulletin board will host rotating displays from partners and residents, and the touchscreen/GIS plans were framed as a multi-year goal that would require interns, partner data sources and fundraising. The committee also discussed logistics for transporting and securing a preserved tree slab meant to be part of the hub’s historical display; the slab was described as a 1961 tree cross-section weighing about 30 pounds.

Next steps listed by the committee included finalizing printed materials for the hub, reserving an easy-to-remember domain name consistent with the Instagram handle, confirming volunteers for market shifts, interviewing the prospective GIS student or intern, and coordinating outreach to neighboring cities’ climate managers to invite them to the Oct. 12 opening and future events.

The committee said it will meet again before the Oct. 12 event for a final wrap-up and to confirm roles, materials and invitations.