An Undergraduate-Centered Consortium Approach to Urban Heat Research and Climate Resilience Action: The Virginia Heat Watch Project

Virginia has exceptional landscape diversity, both in ecoregions present within its borders and types and location of cities and other forms of human settlement; this presents both opportunities and challenges for researching environmental issues such as climate change. A group of 13 primarily undergraduate–serving institutions in Virginia collaborated to measure and evaluate the extent of the urban heat island in 10 diverse localities across Virginia. This case study article describes how faculty and students analyzed and applied the data collected through a citizen science initiative in six of the urban areas, and how they used the data to work with community members on projects such as urban tree planting. The article also shares the benefits and challenges of this multi-institutional project, providing examples of how participating institutions were able to achieve greater outcomes through their collaboration than would have been possible individually. Through engaging with this case, readers will understand how a multi-institutional environmental research collaboration substantially focused around undergraduate participation and research formed and how such a collaboration has contributed to climate change/urban heat research, urban heat mitigation action, community outreach, and education, including undergraduate research mentorship.