Each year, Preserving Legacies selects a cohort of ten climate-impacted heritage places and local leaders from a pool of global applicants. Once selected, each community chooses two custodians, local leaders who care for heritage places, to participate in a three-year program to learn about climate science, to assess climate risk, and to implement a climate adaptation action that protects their heritage and bolsters community resilience.

In their first year, custodians are enrolled in a comprehensive training program designed to increase their climate literacy and equip them with the technical skills and tools necessary to assess climate risks, implement effective climate actions, and monitor the progress of resilience-building efforts.  Training will also be conducted with the intention to embed learning and development of skills within a plural knowledge system framework. This allows for the validation of community and individual knowledge and expertise, and also allows for the further co-creation of new climate and heritage knowledge as we navigate the space of climate action in a just and equitable manner. Through online education modules, discussion sessions, and an in-person experiential learning workshop, custodians are transformed into leaders capable of driving meaningful climate action in their communities.

In their second year, Preserving Legacies will support custodians to use their new skills to conduct a values-based climate risk assessment for their site or heritage place. They start by engaging the heritage place community to identify and document the diverse values associated with their heritage place. Using tools and techniques learned during their training, custodians create and utilize localized climate data to visualize, interpret and communicate potential future climate hazards, in order to evaluate and assess future climate change risk in their heritage places; making complex climate information accessible and relevant to their specific context. . Following this, custodians then facilitate an inclusive workshop that weaves together diverse knowledge systems, to determine which community values are most at risk of these climate threats through the translation of local observations, experiences and scientific data into understandable and actionable insights The process concludes with the creation of a comprehensive Risk Assessment and Action Plan, which is then shared with and validated by the community.

In their third year, custodians focus on putting their plans into action. Using the Risk Assessment and Action Plan as a guide, along with their training, custodians design, implement, and monitor climate adaptation solutions that are specifically tailored to their communities. With seed funding, technical advising, and evaluation support from Preserving Legacies, these projects are locally led and emphasize the sustainability of local heritage economies, ensuring that communities can continue to thrive despite the challenges of climate change.

‍

As a three year commitment which includes mandatory training, project deliverables, networking and travel, applicants are advised to consider the time and professional commitment before applying. They are also strongly advised to discuss their involvement in the program within their organizations and communities.

‍

After their third year, communities become leaders of a global community of practice that connects them with ongoing peer mentorship, opportunities to connect with potential funders, and continued training for assessing impact. This allows communities to sustain their climate resilience efforts after the three-year program ends.