February 2019
The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements, events, and funding opportunities along with links to the previous month's local, state, and national resilience news. 
Learn more about CIRCA at circa.uconn.edu
Announcements
Funding Opportunity: Resilient Communities Program
Wells Fargo and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have partnered to create the Resilient Communities program. For more information on their recently announced request for proposals, please  visit the program website . This grant program focuses on helping communities prepare for future impacts associated with sea-level rise, sustain appropriate water quantity and quality, and enhance forest conservation. Contact Katie Lund to find out how CIRCA can support an application from Connecticut. 
Pre-Proposals Deadline: February 19, 2019 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
Funding Opportunity: 2020-2022 Omnibus Funding Cycle Proposals Sought
The Connecticut Sea Grant College Program (CTSG) has issued its call for preliminary proposals for the 2020-2022 Omnibus Funding Cycle for the funding period of Feb. 1, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2022. CTSG supports applied research in both natural and social sciences, education, and outreach activities to achieve healthy coastal and marine ecosystems and consequent public benefits, focusing on Connecticut, Long Island Sound and its watershed.
Preliminary Proposal Deadline: February 25, 2019 by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Funding Opportunity: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Through this funding opportunity, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeks to develop and amplify the evidence around a set of approaches that improve community health and well-being and advance health equity, while also addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation. Eligible, local approaches can focus on one or more of a range of determinants of health—including, but not limited to: air quality, energy sources, transportation or mobility design, food and water systems, housing, and health systems. 
Application Deadline: February 8, 2019.
MetroCOG – Designing Resilience: Living Shorelines for Bridgeport Report
The Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG), in partnership with the City of Bridgeport, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and Milone and MacBroom developed design plans for a living shoreline project at Bridgeport’s West Johnson Creek. This CIRCA Municipal Resilience Grant project advances design concepts from the Regional Framework for Coastal Resilience in Southern Connecticut.
New Governors’ Resilience Playbook , United States Climate Alliance

The USCA Resilience Working Group , co-chaired by California and Massachusetts in collaboration with resilience leaders from eight other states, has worked to create a Resilience Playbook for new governors taking office in January 2019. The Playbook draws on resilience innovations from USCA states and governors. It also draws on expertise and best practices from organizations that are doing innovative work on natural infrastructure systems, adaptation policy, university training linkages, and data development.
Events
March 8, 2019 - Northeast Summit for a Sustainable Environment
NESSBE 2019: Equity of Place
7:30am-7:00pm
Kroon Hall, Yale University (195 Prospect Street New Haven, CT)
Early bird pricing ends February 8 th

NESSBE (Northeast Summit for a Sustainable Built Environment) is a biennial northeast regional summit meant to include a larger community of building professionals, owners, academics, policymakers and advocates in a conversation about sustainability in the built environment. The theme of the second NESSBE is Equity of Place: Social Justice in the Built Environment . The focus areas are material health and social justice, climate justice and conservation, resilience, community engagement, and affordable housing. O rganizers of this event include: The Connecticut Green Building Council (CTGBC) and Living Building Challenge: Connecticut Collaborative (LBC CT) with the help of the Yale Office of Sustainability, and the Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development.
Local & State News Clips
January 14, 2019 - Groton City to Hold Public Hearing on Plan of Conservation and Development , The Day

The City of Groton is updating its Plan of Conservation and Development. The protection of the community's resources is a major component of the plan, and the Planning and Zoning Commission identified protecting coastal resources as a top priority. The plan points to the importance of preparing for sea level rise and cites CIRCA's recommendation that communities "plan for sea level rise of 20 inches (0.5 meters) between 2017 and 2050." 
January 16, 2019 - Teach Kids About Climate Change? This State Might Require It , Star Tribune

A legislative proposal in Connecticut would mandate instruction on climate change in public schools statewide, beginning in elementary school. Connecticut already has adopted science standards that call for teaching of climate change, but if the bill passes it is believed that it would be the country's first to write such a requirement into law.
January 18, 2019 - Baker-Polito Administration Announce New Climate Adaptation Programs, Framingham Source

 At the Boston Massachusetts Municipal Association Annual Meeting on January 18th, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito outlined a number of initiatives to invest in the Commonwealth’s communities including new climate adaptation programs and significant support for local aid. These proposals will be filed next week as part of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget.
National News Clips
January 10, 2019 - World's Oceans Are Warming Faster, Studies Show, Fueling Storms and Sea Rise , Inside Climate News

A new study strengthens the consensus that the warming of the world's oceans is accelerating. The findings are vindication of the scientific community's work so far and lend greater weight to the projections for warming through the end of this century.
January 30, 2019 - U.S. Intelligence Officials Warn Climate Change Is a Worldwide Threat , Inside Climate News

The nation's intelligence community warned in its annual assessment of worldwide threats that climate change and other kinds of environmental degradation pose risks to global stability because they are "likely to fuel competition for resources, economic distress, and social discontent through 2019 and beyond."
The Resilience Roundup highlights CIRCA's  presence in the news, provides links to recent local/state/national news articles related to resilience and adaptation, and announces upcoming events and seminars.
 
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation's (CIRCA) mission is to increase the resilience and sustainability of vulnerable communities along Connecticut's coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the natural, built, and human environment. The institute is located at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus and includes faculty from across the university. CIRCA is a partnership between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).