Windham Mayor Tom DeVivo and Connecticut State Rep. Susan Johnson visited Eastern Connecticut State University for a panel discussion on March 4 in the Fine Arts Instructional Center Proscenium Theater. The discussion centered on climate change and environmental preservation.

The discussion was part of this year’s Big Read program at Eastern. Themed “Where We Live,” the program is based on Andrew Krivak’s novel “The Bear,” which follows a girl and her father as the last two humans on a desolate, futuristic Earth, located in the New England mountains.

The discussion followed a question-and-answer format, led by students Ella Ryerson, Camron Barboza, Daniel DeLauro, and Reilly Sullivan. The students presented key ideas from “The Bear” and asked questions regarding local solutions to climate change based on the novel.

The session was moderated by political science Professor and Department Chair Martín Mendoza-Botelho. Big Read Program Director Patricia Szczys and Art Gallery Director Julia Wintner also played key roles in coordinating the event.

Eastern President Karim Ismaili gave opening remarks. He said that taking local action against climate change is “an especially relevant topic as we navigate the issues of climate change and environmental stewardship.”

In keeping with the “Where We Live” theme, Szczys stressed the importance of taking an “action- and community-oriented” approach to protecting the environment.

Before asking questions, students gave their interpretations of key points in the novel. One character in the book, a bear, “symbolizes the danger of the natural world,” said Sullivan. “The less humans intervened, the better it was for our planet.”

DeLauro highlighted the “urgent need for action to combat climate change.” He continued: “The book serves as a meditation on what it means to be human in a world where nature has taken back over.”

Mayor DeVivo emphasized the need for all community members to pull their weight in the fight against climate change. “We (Willimantic) are a small city without a highway, so we need to be self-sufficient,” he said.

He continued: “I look at sustainability as having compassion and understanding that we came from different places but are all in the same place now.”

DeVivo urged attendees not to pay attention to national narratives attempting to deny climate change. “Ignore the rhetoric … do it yourself and set an example; market the idea of doing your own part,” he said. “Climate change is real.”

Johnson, an Eastern alumna and a member of the legislature’s Education Committee, recently began working with schools to incorporate organic waste recycling programs among administrators and teach agriculture to students to open their minds to sustainable practices.

Johnson also praised Eastern’s sustainability initiatives, including the geothermal energy system in High Rise and the two fuel cells on campus, which have slashed carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.

Johnson advocated for the continued implementation of geothermal energy systems in Windham to help “take control of access to energy in this community.”