About the talk
Dr. Ingrid Solberg, climate adaptation planner for a regional planning commission, spoke at UW–Porter Falls in September 2025 as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, nominated by the College of Science & Mathematics.
What the talk covered
Solberg made the case that small cities like Porter Falls have both more flexibility and less capacity than large cities when it comes to climate adaptation, and shared specific, low-cost interventions — like the kind of stream restoration Porter's own campus has done — that smaller communities can actually afford.
A line worth remembering
“A big city can hire a climate office. A small city has to make every project do climate work as a side effect.”
— Dr. Ingrid Solberg
If you missed it
Distinguished Lecture Series talks are recorded and streamed live from the Halvorsen Library auditorium, and a recording is typically posted afterward through the sponsoring college's page. Reach the College of Science & Mathematics directly if you are looking for a specific talk that is not yet posted.
How it connected to coursework
The College of Science & Mathematics typically builds a short discussion or reflection assignment around its nominated speaker into at least one course that term, so students who could not attend live still engage with the ideas secondhand. Faculty who teach in areas adjacent to “Climate Adaptation for Small Cities” say the Q&A after the formal talk is usually where the most specific, applicable answers come out — worth staying for if you do attend in person.
Common questions
Can students propose a speaker? Each college nominates its own speaker; a student with a suggestion should raise it with a faculty member or the department office in the relevant college, since faculty typically make the actual nomination.
Is attendance required for any course? Some instructors offer extra credit or a short reflection assignment tied to a relevant talk, but attendance is never a blanket requirement across the university.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Dr. Ingrid Solberg and this talk are invented; nothing here describes a real lecture or a real speaker.