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  • Rick Bonetti

Rogue Valley Community Resilience

Updated: Jan 27, 2023


The Creation Justice programs of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) "activate congregations seeking to improve their practices of environmental stewardship and environmental and ecological justice."


Rogue Climate was featured in a 2020 webinar organized by EMO and Oregon Interfaith Power and Light in 2020. Allie Rosenbluth and Jackie Rodriguez were on the Zoom call along with Cherice Bock and Caren Caldwell.

"Care for creation intersects with racial justice and the health of the soil, water and air. This work looks unique in different parts of the state based on the people who live there, the ways the land has been used, and the species and landscape elements present in each region. ~ Rogue Climate

Founded in 2013, Rogue Climate’s mission is to:

  • "Empower Southern Oregon communities most impacted by climate change, including low-income, rural, youth, and communities of color"

  • "Win climate justice by organizing for clean energy, sustainable jobs, and a healthy environment."

"They do so through leadership development, political education, fostering conversations, and campaigns for policies that benefit our communities over the special interests of the largest corporations." Rogue Climate works in both local efforts and statewide campaigns.


Their climate resilience actions involve Fire Recovery; Community Support; and Resilience Hubs.


Resilience hubs are "community-based locations that nourish existing relationships and trust in the community to help prepare for the impacts of climate change and other disruptions. " They may also be "a group that has established relationships in the community, that utilizes their resources and/or physical infrastructure to create safe

places dedicated to resilience."


Rogue Climate prepared a Community Resilience Guidebook for people and organizations who are passionate about environmental justice, care about emergency preparedness and resilience, and want to see a more just future for ourselves and our neighbors. They focus on equity, listening, well-being, reliable energy, clean air, and working together across partnerships. Rogue Climate points to Vibrant Hawaii as an example.


In 2020, Vibrant Hawai‘i set out to develop a network of people-powered spaces that provide resources to build more connected and prepared communities." They have a well-developed inventory of resources and participants on the big island as shown on their interactive map.


Locally, in the Rogue Valley, Jackson County Emergency Management has links to Resources. Since October 2022 Jackson County has been updating its multi-jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) to "identify natural hazards and develop strategies to reduce the impacts of natural disasters." This will be an update of the 2018 Jackson County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. This identified a Cascadia earthquake, emerging infectious diseases, wildfires, and winter storms as top-tier risks. Floods, drought, windstorms, and landslide risks are related to extreme weather and the climate emergency.

The JCEM website has information on Emergency Shelter Responses and Resources. This includes such things as a Neighborhood Fire & Emergency Planning Guide.


Rogue Valley Manor has a Residents Preparedness Group Manual with links to some useful general information.


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