As the Midwest continues to experience rising temperatures in a warming climate, University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate student Becky Rose reminds her students to consider more than just the numbers on a thermometer.

“It’s not just heat,” said Rose, who is a Nelson Institute and Geography Department PhD student. “(Extreme heat) is connected to so much about society. It’s also housing rights and quality, and it’s economic wellbeing and justice, and oppression and equity, and labor, and rural-urban divides.”
A challenge in Wisconsin, Rose said, is that there are many climate and heat efforts happening across the state, but many don’t have a way to be aware of others.
This challenge has informed the focus of Rose’s work as a heat researcher. She documents the efforts in Wisconsin related to climate and heat to have a greater understanding of what’s working and lessons learned. Rose is also contributing to research on extreme heat through her work with the Wisconsin Heat Health Network, which is supported by UniverCity Alliance.
During the Spring 2024 semester, a group of undergraduate capstone students contributed to heat research in Wisconsin through Rose’s course, Environmental Studies 600: Building Resilient to Heat.
It’s an apt topic for students to work on in partnership with the community, according to Steve Vavrus, state climatologist and director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office.

“Heat is this country’s number one cause of weather-related fatalities, and heat waves are increasing in frequency and intensity around the country and world as the climate warms. At the same time, deaths from heat stress are very preventable with appropriate preparation and intervention,” Vavrus said. “Therefore, addressing heat resilience has the potential for huge public health benefits.”
Rose wanted the students’ projects to meet established needs. She first connected with community partners – including the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Climate and Health Program, Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management, the Oak Creek Health Department, and Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps – to identify what research topics would be the most beneficial.
Over the semester, students in five groups explored different facets of extreme heat and resilience. They asked how and why high temperatures occur where they do and what are their effects on people, infrastructure, and society. The students also researched different approaches to addressing high temperatures with a focus on justice and equity and wondered what creates vulnerability to hazards.
These questions resulted in five projects:
“My hope is that the projects aren’t just an abstract thing on a shelf but that they are used, passed along, and become the inspiration for something else,” Rose said.
While the projects addressed the needs of community partners, they also provided students with a unique opportunity to put their classroom knowledge into practice.
Max Prestigiacomo, ’24, took Rose’s class in his final semester. Prestigiacomo, who majored in sociology and environmental studies and earned a certificate in public policy, said it was refreshing to work on a community-based project.
“It’s the closest you can get to the Wisconsin Idea,” he said. “Connecting all this curiousness and the interest of students wanting to get their foot in the door and learn firsthand how local governments work, I thought was a really great idea.”
Connecting students and community
Rose said she plans to reconnect with the community partners to discuss the projects and if there are future ideas her students could investigate in the Fall 2024 semester.
Chris Litzau, the director of the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps (GLCCC), said addressing extreme heat has become a priority for the organization. GLCCC works with veterans experiencing homelessness and youth by providing them job skills training.
Partnering with Rose and her students was a first step in brainstorming ways to support the broader community and those served by GLCCC who are affected by extreme heat.
“We have older veterans who are going out and trying to make a difference, but they’re also highly susceptible to extreme heat conditions,” Litzau said.
Creating an opportunity where research conducted by students can be informed by the community – a “two-way street,” Litzau said – results in impactful work. GLCCC is already considering how to implement some of the research related to cooling centers.
“It’s an example of a platform that (the students are) springboarding on and we’re able to then jump off of that,” Litzau said.
‘Not all doom and gloom’
The five capstone projects add to a growing body of research on extreme heat in Wisconsin. Vavrus said UW–Madison can play a big role because of its large research and outreach capacity.
“In recent years, Wisconsin has been very fortunate in mostly dodging severe and deadly heatwaves that have afflicted other parts of the country and world. But our luck will eventually run out, and we need to be prepared for that,” Vavrus said. “Studies like these capstone projects help to raise awareness of the dangers of extreme heat and to propose ways in which communities can be proactive to better prepare for heat waves.”
In particular, Vavrus highlighted the project related to building heat resilience in rural Wisconsin. This work aligns with his work through UW–Madison’s Rural Partnerships Institute to help rural Wisconsinites use weather and climate information most effectively as weather extremes amplify.
“Not only did the students address heat resilience as a very important and timely topic, but their projects produced specific, evidence-based recommendations and acknowledged the limitations or barriers associated with them,” Vavrus said.
With many efforts happening across Wisconsin, Rose said it’s encouraging to discover news of what’s working in communities across the state related to extreme weather. She said it’s much needed for her and her students growing up in what feels like an “extended climate apocalypse.”
But Rose said gathering productive efforts and amplifying them so others can join is hopeful. She referenced added protections for migrant workers during excessive heat and the work of Milwaukee-based environmental community organizations as examples of productive steps forward.
“There’s so much action. There’s so much promise,” Rose said. “You learn that it’s not all doom and gloom. There are people doing amazing work, more than you can imagine.”
–Abigail Becker