Inside Climate News 11/26/24

Sheila McMenamin, a Climate Forward attendee, commended the action by Climate Defiance.

“I personally am a fan of what Climate Defiance does, I think it encourages some forced dialogue about the urgency of the problem,” McMenamin said.

The New York Times 3/20/24

At times, long pauses punctuated the comments, as the attendees took in what had been said, staring simply at each other or into their laps. “I can’t buy into the narrative anymore that there’s no choice in how this ends and that major corporations have complete control over my future,” said Sheila McMenamin, 32, who lives in Brooklyn. “They do not have total control, and I refuse to cede that,” she said, as other participants hummed in agreement.

Canary Media 11/15/23

Canary Media’s Charging Up column chronicles gender diversity in the climatetech sector. Sheila McMenamin has been promoted to senior communications manager at Aurora Solar, a well-funded startup with a focus on software for rooftop solar design, sales and delivery.

NPR 08/31/22

This piece was directly inspired by my article about the climate crisis and how it impacts urban parks and the green workforce. “Managing a city's worth of parks is a lot of work. There are ballfields to mow, trails to maintain, playground equipment to repair and swimming pools to staff. And there is rarely enough money to go around. Funding for parks has been stagnant or falling in most cities in the last decade.”

The Regenerates 07/01/2022

“For Sheila, focusing on agency and finding her role helps keep the existential dread at bay. ‘I used to be so cynical, mad, and consumed by climate change, but now I play more of a non-attached, observing role. I'm coming at it from a place of acceptance rather than denial,’ she says.”

Popular Science 05/23/2022

“Many, including Central Park, have experienced tree die-offs due to invasive species, like the emerald ash borer, porcelain berry, lesser celandine and Japanese knotweed, which thrive in warmer weather. U.S. cities lose millions of trees each year.”

The Webby Awards

Spring 2022

Websites and Mobile Sites; Cultural Institutions

AccuWeather 03/08/22

“The Central Park Conservancy team is preparing Dene Slope meadow in Central Park for flowers to bloom to welcome back the monarch butterflies.”

#OneDayin2050 02/08/22

”Healthy urban tree canopy—the buffer of trees that shades streets, cleans air, boosts mental health, and offers habitat to wildlife—used to be relegated to whiter, wealthier areas of Manhattan, but now, according to recent studies, shows no discernible disparity across neighborhood lines. This monumental achievement was not possible without intentional collaboration.”
https://www.oneday2050.org/participants

Scientific American 01/19/22

“While climate impacts across New York are determined by numerous factors—including air pollution, heat island effect and extreme precipitation events—climate warming’s cumulative effect on large urban parks has not been studied in detail, experts say.”

West Side Rag 10/11/21

“Because it is difficult to the untrained eye to tell the difference between non harmful blooms and HABs, all three agencies recommend avoiding water bodies with any algae.”

New York Post 10/18/21

“Toxic algae has been spotted within several water sources in Manhattan’s ecological jewel, and while the effects on people are minimal, pets can be at great risk.”

Gothamist 07/01/21

“Depending on need, some days our arborists will literally scale trees to perform up-close, minimally invasive examinations and prunings.[…] This requires extensive safety precautions, deliberate rope systems, and, of course, a tolerance for heights. Other days, team members can spend more time on the ground—diagnosing diseases and removing invasive plants, among other tasks.”

NowThis 03/01/21

“A racist practice from the 1930s could be the reason why some communities have fewer trees than others—here's how we can reverse this trend and make cities more resilient to climate change.”

The Baltimore Sun 8/30/18

As Director of Programs for the Baltimore Tree Trust, [Sheila] said she was interested in the research to get a better sense of how the heat can vary from block to block—and where more trees are most needed. The nonprofit has planted 5,500 trees since 2008, mostly in East Baltimore, but is looking to spread that canopy into western and southern parts of the city.

NOAA 10/15/18

“Heat islands are a serious public health issue, and this data shows a clear connection between areas of our city lacking tree canopy and the extreme pockets of heat that residents are enduring over the summer months. The maps will help us continue to work within the community to champion the accessibility, growth, and maintenance of our city's green spaces.”

Capital News Service/NPR 09/03/19

“Imagine a tree as an umbrella over a street. The larger that umbrella top gets the more it can shade over the street and cool it quite significantly,” said Sheila McMenamin, Director of Programs for the Baltimore Tree Trust. Maintenance is critical to boosting the tree canopy, she said.

Chesapeake Bay Program 05/03/19

Different parts of a city can be many degrees warmer than others at the same time. What does this mean for the health of residents, and how can cities keep cool in a warming climate? Learn about recent research into the urban heat island effect, and efforts to combat it in the city of Baltimore, with ramifications for other cities across the Chesapeake region.

Bay Journal 03/29/19

Without trees, our quality of life diminishes greatly. And without the forests that contain them, our state suffers from the current and impending costs of climate change on our health, agriculture and economic infrastructure. “No net loss” means far more than maintaining 40 percent forested land—it also means no net loss of the priceless services our forests provide.

The Baltimore Sun 03/08/19

Tree canopy […] is essential in its own right: at the same time of day during a heat wave this past summer, some neighborhoods in Baltimore faced temperatures that were 16 degrees hotter than other neighborhoods. This incredible public health disparity, called the urban heat island, is largely dependent on the tree canopy that protects residents from the dangers of extreme heat.

Salesforce.org 2016

As a young organization with a small staff, managing a fast-growing Fellowship program was rife with challenges. A smattering of Google Forms, Excel, and email were difficult to sift through, not to mention accurately tracking and reviewing hundreds of applications. The result? Poor customer service and slow response times.