Conversations on Nevada’s Changing Climate
This blog post is the first in a four-part series by Ashley Payette, a student at the University of Nevada, Reno. Payette served as a 2025 summer program intern at Nevada Humanities.
By Ashley Payette
I grew up in a land between vast mountains, vaster casinos, pink and purple sunsets, black and grey pavement, and a desert landscape interrupted by concrete and palm trees: Henderson, Nevada.
When I was younger, I spent summers hiking through Red Rock Canyon and boating on Lake Mead. This was before summers were so hot that I wanted nothing more than to sit inside and hope our AC wouldn’t break for another year in a row; before I noticed the white ring around Lake Mead growing thicker as the walls filled with invasive mussel shells and the water turned a murky green; before roads became congested with traffic and construction and dust, signaling that another piece of land was being developed as the city sprawled evermore into the desert.
Mayberry Park, Reno, Nevada. Photograph courtesy of Ashley Payette.
As the outdoors grew more uncomfortable in Henderson, I sought a change of scenery and moved to Reno after graduating high school. Breathing in sage and pine while enthralled by the rolling yellow hills and the Truckee River rushing by – it revived me. Studying wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Nevada, Reno, has immersed me in nature more than ever. As much joy as I’ve found through my major, I’ve found an equal amount of anxiety with my growing awareness of climate change. It follows us wherever we are, showing up as different forms in different places. In Reno, this means increasingly unpredictable winters, and summers full of stinging eyes and sore lungs as wildfires rage hotter, more intense, more uncontrolled.
At the forefront of my mind sits Nevada’s most vulnerable communities. How do they survive when our state is increasingly plagued by an erratic climate coupled with heat, drought, and fire? Questions like this led me to pursue a minor in social justice at UNR, intern with Nevada Humanities, and ultimately write this blog series.
In this series, I interviewed Nevadans with backgrounds in various disciplines – political science, photography, and communications – who care about the climate with the humanities in mind. Open conversations such as these may serve as a tool to inspire connection and support between us, allowing us to understand our environment with a broader perspective. By sharing our knowledge, we can educate one another on our experience, collaborate with a combined strength, and uplift Nevadans to create communities that are more resilient to climate change.
Ashley Payette is a third-year student at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is majoring in wildlife ecology and conservation with a minor in social justice. Ashley plans to attend graduate school and lead a career in wildlife management and policy.