Communities around the world are starting to notice climate changes that may affect their cultures, lifestyles, and economies. This year, Heureka, The Finnish Science Centre, Vantaa, and The Wild Center, Tupper Lake, New York, have brought members of their communities together to exchange experiences and discuss community learning and action on energy saving, climate issues, and “green” practices that support the regions’ commitment to sustainable tourism.
The project is supported by AAM’s Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad grant program. In November 2010, a team from Finland traveled to New York’s Tri-Lakes area to participate in two forums—the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, where Heureka experience director Mikko Myllykoski was a presenter, and Wintergreen: A Conversation about the Future of Winter Recreation, Sports and Culture in the Adirondacks. On February 24, The Wild Center sent a team that included three high school students to Finland, where they met with the deputy mayor of Helsinki to discuss experiences developing low-carbon economies and a representative of the Ministry of Labour to discuss how to create jobs in rural areas. (Read more about the participants’ experiences in their blog.)
About the images: Finnish and U.S. community teams in the Adirondacks (top) and Finland. Photos courtesy the Wild Center