Community Outreach and Education

Overview

UPCOMING SESSIONS

• iCAR Community Townhall: April 26, 2025
  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Mt. Zion Human Services
  945 20th St S, St. Petersburg, FL, 33712
  
  
• iCAR Community Townhall: May 3, 2025
  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Lealman Asian Neighborhood Family Center
  4255 56th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33714
  
  
• iCAR Community Townhall: June 3, 2025
  6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Frank W. Pierce Recreation Center
  2000 7th St., St. Petersburg, FL 33705

ONGOING EFFORTS AND EVENTS

• Community-Collaborative: Steering Committee Meeting for Storm Team Pilot Program

  2023 - Jan 19th, Feb 2nd, March 2nd, April 6th, May 4th, June 1st, July 13th, Aug 3rd, Sep 7th, Oct 5th, Nov 2nd and Dec 7th

  2024 - Jan 18th, Feb 1st, March 7th 

PAST SESSIONS

• iCAR Community Townhall: March 4th, 2025
  Frank W. Pierce Recreation Center
  2000 7th St. S., St. Petersburg FL 33705
  
  
• iCAR Community Townhall: February 4th, 2025
  Frank W. Pierce Recreation Center
  2000 7th St. S., St. Petersburg FL 33705
  
  

• iCAR Community Townhall: January 14th, 2025
  Frank W. Pierce Recreation Center
  2000 7th St. S., St. Petersburg FL 33705
  
  

• iCar & Storm Squad Community Annual Review 2024
  
  

• iCar Community Appreciation Dinner: December 3rd, 2024

  6 - 7 p.m. at Enoch Davis Community Center
  1111 18th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33705
  
  Event Powerpoint
  
  

• iCAR Community Townhall: October 26th, 2024

  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Child's Park Recreation Center
  4301 13th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33711
  
  Event Pictures
  
  

• iCAR Community Townhall: July 13th, 2024

  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the New Faith Free Methodist Church
  2427 Irving Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33712
  
  Pictures
  
  

• iCAR Community Townhall: April  6th, 2024

  10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Enoch Davis Center
  1111 18th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33705

  
  Event Pictures
   

• iCAR Community Townhall: Dec 6th, 2023​

  Goals: Find out how you can be a Storm Squad Ambassador - 14 residents will start this pilot program with a mission to neighbor helping neighbors and also learn about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) initiatives that will be launch in your neighborhood. Pilot communities for the Ambassador Program include: Bartlett Park, Harbordale, Childs Park, Jordan Park, Campbell Park, Palmetto Park and Lake Maggiore Shores.  Event Pictures

  If you are interested in becoming an ambassador - please fill out this application: https://forms.gle/TFrHduADXSBhcGAd8

  If you are interested in joining CERT Team - please fill out this application: https://forms.gle/UUPYuxnE6wcSzADq9
  
  

• iCAR community Townhall, Oct 14th, 2023
  Goals: Assess how the community faired during hurricane season, gain a more in-depth understanding of communities concerns regarding disaster preparation and co-design a community-led community action plan (CAP) to address and alleviate the concerns. Event Pictures
  
  
• iCAR community Townhall, June 10th, 2023
  Goals: Provide information to the communities and find out their challenges so that ultimately, we can co-design a community-led 'community action plan' or CAP
  
  

• Community-Collaborative: Steering Committee Meeting for Storm Team Pilot Program - Dec 13, 2022, 6 - 8 p.m. at the Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33705
  
  

• Community-Driven Empowerment Project: Storm Team Pilot Program - November 15, 2022, 6 - 7:30 p.m. (Virtual)
  
  

• Conversation with stakeholders to foster disaster preparation and promote resiliency - Townhall (in person) Event July 12, 2022, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33705
  
  
• Building equitable resiliency for preparing and recovering from disasters and the impacts of climate change: Action Plan Meeting I with stakeholders (Virtual) Nov 10th, 2021 - 1 - 3 p.m.
  
  
• Climate Resiliency and Justice: Townhall (in person) event Sep 25, 2021
  
  

• Community Climate Change Education Series (CCCES-103), 2020-2021 Events
  The Community Climate Change Education Series offered by iCAR brings experts on diverse issues related to the impact of climate change on Florida (and Pinellas County specifically), to the community. A primary goal of the series is to partner with local organizations with similar missions to increase access of all residents to the scientific and professional expertise of the university and the broader scientific community by hosting events at off-campus locations that are accessible to marginalized communities. Monthly events, generally held on the first Tuesday evening of each month, run from September to May. These events feature a presentation by an expert on the topic, but also provide an opportunity for substantive dialogue with the audience on issues that are of concern to all of us.

  Sponsors & Partners of this Series: Tampa Bay Estuary Program, and the Suncoast Sierra Club.
  
  

  The outcomes that CCCES seeks to achieve are:

  1. Make scientific expertise on climate change more accessible to the non-university community, with the specific goal of engaging marginalized communities.

  2. Increase dialogue between experts and community members through open, free and informal gatherings.

  3. Allow the university and other scientific professionals an opportunity to hear from the community about their concerns.

  4. Build scientific literacy in Pinellas County around issues of climate change and resilience. 

   

  • April, 7, 2021: Women's Participation in Climate Change Adaptation: A global perspective
    Speaker: Jamie Sommer, USF
    
    
  • January 27, 2021: Community Resiliency Information System (CRIS) - Technology-enhanced Community Engagement and Data Collection & Viewing Tools & Strategies
    Speaker: Barnali Dixon, iCAR and USF
    
    
  • November 17, 2020: An Overview of Updated Climate Change Models
    Speaker: Maya Burke, Tampa Bay Estuary Program
    
    

  • October 6, 2020:  Managing COVID 19 in Hurricane Season 
    Speaker: Amber Boulding, City of St. Petersburg - Video Link

• South St. Petersburg Community Climate Education Series 102 Events (Fall 2019 – Spring 2020)
  • March 3, 2020 – The Impact of Climate Migration on the United States
    
    
  • February 4, 2020 – Emotional Costs of Climate Change
    
    
  • January 21, 2020 – Building Economic Resilience and Recovery in the Tampa Bay Area / Helping Business Grow Before, During and After a Disaster
    
    
  • November 5, 2019 – Climate Science 102 Climate Variability and Changes: Impact on Agriculture and Forestry in Florida
    
    

  • October 1, 2019 – Climate Science 102: Challenges and Opportunities of the Current Food System: What We Eat Plays a Role in the Preservation of Our Planet
    
    

• STEM Education Workshop: Crowdsourced Flood Mapping & Solutions, Summer 2019
  This is an iCAR Community Engagement and education project where K-12 students received hands-on STEM educationusing Geospatial analytical approach to map neighborhood flooding. The workshop was funded primarily by a grant from the American Geophysical Union. Additional support was provided by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Quantum Spatial, Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the Joint Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.
  • STEM Education Workshop: Crowdsourced Flood Mapping & Solution, Summer 2019
    
    
• South St. Petersburg Community Climate Education Series 101 Events (Fall 2018 – Spring 2019)
  In cooperation with Boyd Hill Nature Preserve,iCAR faculty and students are organizing a series of town hall conversations between residents of south St. Petersburg and key officials, agencies and experts on a variety of issues related to changing weather patterns, storms, and climate change.
  • April 2, 2019 – Climate Science 101: The City of St. Petersburg Resiliency Initiative
    
    
  • March 5, 2019 – Climate Science 101: Real Estate and Climate Change: What will happen to my house?
    
    
  • February 5, 2019 – Climate Science 101: Potential Impacts of climate change on Ecosystems, Flora and Fauna in the Tampa Bay Region
    
    
  • November 6, 2018 – Climate Science 101: Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Flooding
    
    

  • October 2, 2018 – Climate Science 101: State of Our Knowledge on Climate Change
    
    

• Hurricane Preparation and Recovery Day, July 14, 2018, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  iCAR is co-organizing a Hurricane Preparation and Recovery Day at the Child’s Park Recreation Center with the neighborhood association. This event will include a “Share Your Stories” event in which residents will share their experiences with storms, flooding, etc., and will be able to ask questions of key agencies, such as the St. Petersburgand Pinellas County Emergency Management offices, the Florida Department of Health, and the Red Cross. Agency representatives will be able to hear what is most important to the neighborhood and residents will receive vital information from each agency. A raffle will be help for starter hurricane preparation kits and residents will be given a specific Call to Action.
  • Hurricane Preparation and Recovery Day Details
    
    
• Child’s Park Family Fun Day, June 9, 2018, 1 – 5 p.m.
  iCAR representatives along withthe iCAR research team and volunteers lead by Ms. Rachelle Pontes participated in Child’s Park Family Fun Day meeting as part of iCAR’s on-going outreach/engagement efforts called ‘Child’s Park Community Resiliency Project’
  • Child’s Park Family Fun Day Details
    
    
• Child’s Park Neighborhood Meeting, May 15, 2018, 6 p.m.
  iCAR representativesincluding Drs. Dixon and Johns participated in the Child’s park Neighborhood meeting along with their research team Ms. Rachelle Pontes and Ms.Melissa Keles as part of iCAR’s on-going outreach/engagement effort called ‘Child’s Park Community Resiliency Project’
  
  • Child’s Park Neighborhood Meeting Details