Yale Center schedules in-person Sept. symposium on climate and health at Sterling Memorial Library

The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health is holding a one-day symposium in September at Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library aimed at building awareness and partnerships around climate-related health risks in Connecticut, organizers said on a coalition call. Jen, a program lead at the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, said the event will use a free lecture hall at Sterling Memorial Library, will hold about 80 in-person attendees with a virtual plenary option, and will emphasize in-person attendance for networking. “We can stretch that a bit if we get, you know, an overflow crowd or something. And then it does have Zoom capabilities, so we will be able to offer a virtual option,” Jen said. Organizers proposed two morning sessions: a hazards-and-vulnerability session (heat, sea-level rise, disproportionate impacts) and a solutions-focused session covering data collection, community preparedness, clinical and policy responses. The format will mix brief presentations and panel discussions, followed by roundtable conversations at up to eight tables to generate actionable partnerships and ideas. Jen said event organizers plan to capture table notes and produce a post-event write-up. Speakers and participants will include public-health professionals, health-care providers, local and state leaders, researchers, community and environmental advocates, students and journalists. Organizers plan to invite local health departments and community groups doing air monitoring, and to highlight work from the Naugatuck Valley Health District’s EPA-funded project and others. The symposium will feature optional extras organizers are exploring: a poster session for students or projects, short printed or digital resource handouts, and an informal coalition meeting after lunch to reflect on next steps. Several coalition members suggested splitting solution talks into two mini-panels and adding a poster area during lunch; others proposed including demonstrations or displays of electric transit and municipal electric vehicles if available. Organizers said the event’s funding will not come from BRACE grant funds because federal BRACE disbursement was uncertain; Yale’s leadership offered the Sterling Library venue to keep the event free to attendees. Jen said registration details and a resource page would be shared when available. No votes or formal decisions were taken on the call; organizers sought feedback on speakers, session timing and logistics and asked coalition members to help spread the registration link when posted.