Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Clifton Park and the Climate Smart Task Force:
Establishing a Climate Education and Engagement Strategy

June 25, 2024- The Town of Clifton Park is working to achieve Bronze Certification for New York State’s Climate Smart Communities initiative. Clifton Park is committed to identifying solutions and taking action to mitigate climate change and adapt to its inevitable consequences. Public education, outreach, and engagement are critical to preparing communities for the effects of climate change and to enlist the public in taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as part of preventing further climate change. Outreach efforts provide opportunities to collaborate with nontraditional stakeholder groups, start conversations about the community’s future, deepen a sense of identity and social cohesion, and identify innovative ways to reduce GHG emissions and build community resilience to climate change.

In order to reach, engage, and educate the residents of Clifton Park, the Climate Smart Task Force has developed a Public Education and Engagement Plan. PE9 Climate Change Education and Engagement is designed by New York State as a Priority Action in the Climate Smart Communities program. The Town of Clifton Park has developed a 2023-2024 strategy document for educating the public about past and future efforts within the Town to address adaptation and mitigation. In this document, stakeholders, partners, and the types of audiences are identified as future engagement methods are planned for and pursued. This is a living strategy document, meaning the Task Force will revise and update it as engagement continues within the Town.

As both the Coordinator for the Town’s Climate Smart Task Force and Deputy Supervisor for the Town of Clifton Park, I am establishing a strategy to facilitate climate education and engagement focused on adaptation and mitigation. This strategy is a publicly available Town document, called “Town of Clifton Park Public Education & Engagement Strategy for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, 2023-2024.” This strategy document is publicly posted on the Town’s website www.cliftonpark.org.

Anthony Morelli
Deputy Supervisor, Town of Clifton Park
Coordinator, Clifton Park Climate Smart Task Force