In this episode, Natalie Weiss, Climate Resilience Coordinator for the City of Olympia, shares her path from environmental economics to landscape architecture and into public service. The conversation unpacks how cross-disciplinary insights inform Olympia’s proactive approach to climate adaptation—from downtown flood barriers to heat pump programmes for low-income households. Natalie explains the balancing act between long-term strategic planning and immediate public health needs, and how reframing resilience work as community investment strengthens local engagement. She also reflects on the power of neighbourhood connections, adaptive infrastructure, and the role of perception in climate preparedness.

Episode Overview:

• [00:00:58] Teaser: “If Olympia had a climate resilience theme song…”

• [00:02:28] Guest background: from maths and biology to design-led climate work.

• [00:05:07] Olympia’s unique geography, identity, and community profile.

• [00:08:00] Best vs. worst case climate futures for Olympia.

• [00:10:40] Findings from Olympia’s climate risk and vulnerability assessment.

• [00:14:11] Sea level rise risks and downtown mitigation strategies.

• [00:16:51] Balancing urgency and long-term planning for sea level rise.

• [00:20:49] Heat pump group purchasing programme and community uptake.

• [00:23:13] Lessons in scaling local initiatives.

• [00:24:40] Justifying climate investment amid political scepticism.

• [00:28:10] Bottlenecks: funding and need for structural integration.

• [00:30:42] Importance of individual and community-level adaptation.

• [00:32:09] Fun Segment – “Hot Take of the Day”.

• [00:35:22] Ending Question: “To you, what is a Smart City?”

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