The Midwest CASC hosted leaders from the national and regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers for a meeting in June 2022. The meeting took place on the Saint Paul side of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. 

Objectives of the three-day meeting included: building connection and trust amongst the CASC network; learning from one another by sharing science activities, priorities, and promising practices; contributing to creating the future vision of growth for the CASC enterprise; and providing input on key program elements to improve network-wide coordination and efficiencies.

The meeting featured sessions centered around sharing CASC successes and challenges, refining and communicating our CASC identity, demonstrating CASC success and growing demand for our programming, and more. Facilitators provided opportunities to network and strengthen relationships between CASCs. USGS senior staff, research coordinators, and university staff held separate small group meetings to discuss internal affairs. 

Attendees were also invited to join field trips to local destinations that highlight adaptation issues in the Midwest region. These included a walking tour of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, managed by the National Park Service, and a guided hike through Fort Snelling State Park to the sacred Bdote, the spiritual and physical place of creation for the Dakota people at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.