October 24, 2024 | 4:00 – 6:00pm
Criscuolo Park, Corners of Chapel Street & James Street, New Haven, CT 06513
Tickets: Members $25, Non-Members $40
1 HSW/LU AIA Credits Available
Last year, Earth’s temperature was the hottest on record. More frequent and severe heat waves are significantly impacting human health, especially in urban areas, where a phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI), disproportionately impacts communities of color. UHI also increases energy costs and air pollution. In this program, we will explore the impact of trees, parks, and other green infrastructure on mitigating UHI. As we walk through Criscuolo Park and the exterior of John S. Martinez School, we’ll hear from tour guides, Chris Ozyck and Anna Pickett, from Urban Resources Initiative (URI), describe their work relative to New Haven green spaces and how it impacts the experiences of different communities in the city.
For more information on the equity of tree cover check out the Urban Resources Initiative and Yale’s Hixon Center.
Feel free to join us afterwards at Armada Brewing for an informal “green drinks” and networking opportunity.
Attendees will be able to:
- Define “Urban Heat Island Effect”, identify contributors, and explain how people in cities are more affected by heat than those in rural areas. Through discussion with URI representatives & observation of URI interventions, discover effective strategies and solutions to mitigate the UHI effect.
- Describe how heat affects health (e.g. heat-related illnesses and mortality) and results in other negative outcomes, especially in lower income areas or communities of color (e.g. worse air quality, higher cost burden of air conditioning bills, health care costs, increased hospital visits).
- Describe how the inequitable distribution of land cover/vegetative cover often coincides with lower income areas or communities of color.
- Compare how models of tree planting have been implemented in Detroit, NYC, and New Haven, particularly referencing the New Haven Urban Tree Canopy map. Observe and discuss examples of neglected areas and successful interventions.
- Evaluate New Haven’s implementation and application of Tree Planting strategies funded by the City of New Haven and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Appraise how URI’s efforts lead to positively impacting human health through discussion with peers, industry experts, and local community advocates.
Your Presenters:
Anna Pickett | Development & Outreach Manager, Urban Resources Initiative (URI)
Anna has worked at URI for 14 years. She earned a Master’s of Environmental Science from Yale’s School of the Environment with a focus on environmental health and BA in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College with a focus on the built environment. Before moving to New Haven in 2008, she lived for 4 years in NYC and worked for the Ford Foundation on its environmental justice grantmaking team. Previously, she worked as a social worker in a battered women’s shelter, as a political campaign field staffer, and she lived for a while on a sailboat in the Pacific. She lives in New Haven with her husband and two sons.
Chris Ozyck | Associate Director, Urban Resources Initiative
Chris Ozyck is the Associate Director for the Urban Resources Initiative, and he owns and runs Alfresco, a landscape design and construction business. Chris has led URI’s Community Greenspace program for 20 years and leads all of its green infrastructure projects. He represents URI in the Forests in Cities national network to promote and advance healthy forested natural areas in cities across America through science, management, partnerships, and communications. Chris has been involved in and led numerous Greenway initiatives including being lead organizer for the Vision Trail, the Harbor Trail and the historic Quinnipiac River Loop Trail. He was the founding President of the Board for the Elm City Parks Conservancy and the Greater New Haven Green Fund, and the New Haven Register Person of the Year in 2020. Chris graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Design. He lives in Fair Haven Heights with his wife Rosemary and two daughters.
Cameron Kritikos | Program Manager, Urban Climate Leadership Certificate
Cameron Kritikos is the Urban Climate Leadership Certificate Program Manager for the Yale School of Environment. Cameron is an appointed member of the City of New Haven’s Climate Emergency Taskforce. He is also a 2023 graduate of Yale University with both his Master’s of Environmental Management and Master’s of Divinity. Prior to Yale University, Cameron served as the Mobilizing and Advocacy Fellow at the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice where he connected communities of faith in the U.S. and Canada to sustainable technologies, elected officials, worship resources, and educational opportunities to address climate change. He received his Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies from Calvin University in 2017.