Clear communication networks are essential for coordinating community preparation and response. In climate change response coordination and extreme weather event planning, we call these networks "communication trees." These outline pathways for community members, local organizations, emergency response teams, and Public Health departments to reach the community in a more equitable way. Tree keepers are Public Health operatives that oversee regional communication trees, coordinating local responses.

The sections below represent the "branches" of the tree. Through a distinctions-based approach to collaborating with community members living and working in different contexts, or "branches," we work towards equitable communication and response planning.

Branch managers are the initial contact points, overseeing communication networks in a more specific focus on their given context or community. These managers maintain a branch list of contacts for their field. Each branch manager is partnered with a community engagement specialist, ideally representing peer networks with lived or living experiences in the branch focus or context.

These networks can be used for community engagement and consultation, collaborative approaches to identifying and operationalizing co-benefits, coordinating climate change mitigation efforts, planning emergency responses, and communicating during extreme weather events in our community.