On March 11 nearly 40 people gathered into the Jeffords Auditorium to listen to Lesley-Ann.Dupigny-Giroux discuss climate change and how it affects the people of Vermont. Dupigny-Giroux is the state climatologist for Vermont and is a professor at the University of Vermont in the department of geography. Her research interests include a number of interdisciplinary fields including hydro climatic natural hazards and climate literacy as well as the use of remote sensing and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in the fields of spatial climate and land-surface processes.

Her recently published work includes guest editing a special issue of the journal “Physical Geography,” which was devoted to the theme of climate literacy. Some of her other publications examine the use of multinuclear imaging to examine drought stress in New England wetlands.

Dupigny-Giroux enjoys contributing her intelligence to inform the people around her, which is a major factor in why she loves teaching.

“Sharing knowledge and giving back to my community of scholars, peers, students are my two axioms in life,” she said. “Watching students mature and flourish in their four years with us is a great privilege and the best part about being a teacher-scholar here at UVM.”

This was the Nature Conservancy’s 11th Annual Vermont Natural History Series Event. It was the first time they have ever held the event at Castleton State College.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

“We protect plants, animals and their environment,” said Mary Droege, the director of ecological management and restoration for the conservancy’s local program and is also a part-time professor here at Castleton.

Droege said she very much enjoyed the presentation given by Dupigny-Giroux about climate change.

“It was great and it was very interesting,” Droege said.

Castleton has recently collaborated with the Nature Conservancy and Droege hopes this is the first of many events to be held here at Castleton.

“It’s a partnership we would like to continue,” she said.

The basics of climate change is the earth is heating up because gases produced from vehicles, power plants, deforestation, and other sources are building up in the atmosphere, acting like a thick blanket over our planet. Everyone can help reduce climate change by doing their part to decrease the emission of heat trapping gases to the atmosphere.