On Monday morning, I heard about the earthquake in Northern Thailand. I had just returned from a week in Chiang Rai, Thailand to learn about work they are doing on climate change and resiliency.  I work for Cambridge, Massachusetts and our city has been fortunate to be paired with Chiang Rai as a CityLinks partner.  The trip to Chiang Rai was a very informative and enjoyable trip and I am grateful for the Thai hospitality. Although it unclear to me whether earthquakes are related to climate change, it is a startling reminder of how quickly the conditions in which we live can change and the urgency in which we need to address our environmental conditions.

During my visit, the commitment and engagement of so many people from Chiang Rai to issues around climate change was striking. The Mayor, the City Administrator, the school (students and teachers alike), community leaders, Buddhist Monks -- all engaged in studying and implementing programs around biodiversity, flooding or food production.  Chiang Rai has an earnest desire to understand climate impacts on their community so they can better plan for the future. What was so striking to me about Chiang Rai is its commitment to collaboration:  to engaging and listening to what community leaders have to say about their experience and concerns, and how to learn and move forward together. This is a great model from which we can all learn.