The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements, events, and funding opportunities along with links to the previous month's local, state, and national resilience news.
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Resilient Connecticut - Project Updates |
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The ongoing health crisis has been a challenge for us all. While most of CIRCA’s work, transitioned to virtual formats this past spring, the hard work and efforts of everyone at UConn, CIRCA, and our partners allowed us to keep the Resilient Connecticut project on track, and we thank everyone for their efforts during this difficult time. Phase II of Resilient Connecticut is underway, led by a planning team of Milone & MacBroom, Dewberry, West COG, Metro COG, Naugatuck Valley COG, South Central Regional COG, and the CIRCA research team.
The major tasks in Phase II include inventorying and mapping previous hazard mitigation and resilience projects and data, developing a comprehensive vulnerability assessment of regional climate challenges in Fairfield and New Haven Counties, and developing adaptation scenarios that address these challenges that are implementable.
Input and engagement with a broad range of stakeholders is a fundamental ingredient needed for developing a long term vision for how the region can adapt to climate challenges. For at least the remainder of 2020, in person engagement activities will be limited. However, we’ll be moving to virtual engagement, starting with a “mini” webinar series focused on climate and public health (described below). Other engagement activities will include regional virtual workshops in the project area. And, of course, be sure to save the date annual Resilient Connecticut Climate Adaptation Summit on Friday November 20th. Look for more details on the agenda and registration links very soon.
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Advancing Connecticut's Climate GIS Capacities
Decisions need data and good decisions need good data. In addition to our Sea Level Rise viewer and Coastal Vulnerability Index, we have been working with a number of partners to advance the GIS science for resiliency decision making in Connecticut.
CIRCA has been meeting with COG GIS staff in the Resilient Connecticut project area to coordinate layers that are critical to understanding regional vulnerabilities and, eventually, resiliency opportunities. COGs conduct economic development, transportation, and environmental planning across their towns and produce important GIS layers to communicate information and to identify key intersections of the underlying topics. Each meeting we discuss existing data, creating data from regional planning processes, and aligning attributes and symbology in the data for consistency across the regions. The data will be further developed into the data and plans created by our consultants.
In addition, CIRCA has participated in several meetings about the production of an Environmental Justice mapping tool for the state of Connecticut. This tool is one of the draft suite of actions established by the Equity and Environmental Justice working group of the Governor's Council on Climate Change. The proposed tool would integrate environmental, social, and economic GIS layers to identify vulnerable populations.
To learn more, please contact our Assistant Director of Research, Dr. Yaprak Onat at yaprak.onat [at] uconn.edu.
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Climate Change & Public Health
Mini-Webinar Series
As we are vividly seeing with the coronavirus pandemic, public health is a foundational piece of a resilient community. Throughout the month of September, hear about Climate Change and Public Health in our mini-webinar series. Focused on topic and condensed on time, enjoy 1,2, or all 6 of our free webinars!
Each webinar will be 45 minutes with about 30 minutes of presentation and 10-15 minutes for questions or interactive exercises. Hear from our incredible line-up of speakers from partners across the region, including Save the Sound, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Save the Sound, the city of Norwalk, and, of course, UConn researchers.
Registration will open soon.
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August 21st, 2020, 12:00pm
The Suffolk Downs Resiliency and Adaptation Study was performed to better understand and prepare for climate change impacts to the proposed 161-acre Suffolk Downs Redevelopment Project and surrounding neighborhoods in Boston and Revere. Through innovative hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, the Study showed how the built environment affects the movement of floodwaters on and off the site by analyzing current and future climate conditions for rainfall, coastal flooding, and a combination of the two for various return periods and years. Hear how the Suffolk Downs Resiliency and Adaptation Study helped prepare for climate change impacts to the proposed 161-acre Suffolk Downs Redevelopment Project and surrounding neighborhoods in Boston and Revere.
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Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia Climate & Sustainability Webinar Series |
The final installments of UUCC's Climate & Sustainability Webinar Summer Series will take place during the month of August. On August 26th, the topic will be the connection between climate change and individual health. Each webinar begins at 3:30pm and ends at 5:00pm.
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Connecticut Valley Geo-Institute Virtual Mini-Series: Coastal Resiliency, Climate Change, and Geotechnical Engineering |
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers decided to make the Connecticut Valley Geo-Institute Fall Geotechnical Seminar completely virtual. The new Mini-Series will be held in separate 2-hour sessions on September 4th, 9th, and 11th from 10am - 12pm. During the September 11th session, CIRCA's James O'Donnell will be giving a talk titled "Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding: A Strategy for Adaptation in Connecticut."
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CIRCA Sponsored Award-Winning MS Thesis:
Congratulations Julia Dumaine!
Julia Dumaine's MS thesis has recently won recognition as a co-winner of the Outstanding Master's Thesis award from the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association. Julia did this work while working with CT-DEEP, and her thesis, which may be found below, was sponsored by both UConn's CIRCA and SeaGrant. Her creative thinking, drive, patience, and time management skills are admired by those around her. Congratulations Julia from everyone at the CIRCA team!
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CIRCA Intern Chosen For The 2021 Knauss Fellowship:
Congratulations Alec Shub!
Alec Shub, CIRCA student intern and University of Connecticut graduate student, has been chosen for the 2021 NOAA Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program, which places early career professionals with federal government offices for one year. Alec was among the 74 finalists selected nationwide for the fellowship. This year, Connecticut Sea Grant is among 27 of the 34 Sea Grant programs sponsoring one or more Knauss fellows. Starting in 1974, 1,400 fellows have completed the program, successfully launching careers in science, policy and public administration. Congratulations Alec from everyone at the CIRCA team!
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Congratulations to CIRCA Interns, Sarah Kotsay and Abigail Kwiat!
We are so proud of our two diligent and committed interns, Sarah Kotsay and Abigail Kwiat, upon their graduation from UConn this spring. They have been critical members of the CIRCA team, navigating web design, drafting the Resilience Roundup, researching regional stakeholders, and so much more. Engaging students in research, science communication, and civic engagement are critical efforts in CIRCA's operations. It is bittersweet as they move on to their next adventures and we can't wait to see what they do next!
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Funding Opportunity: NOAA Marine Debris Program
The NOAA Marine Debris Program supports the development and implementation of locally-driven, marine debris assessment, removal and prevention projects that benefit coastal habitat, waterways, and NOAA trust resources. Projects awarded through this grant competition will create long-term, quantifiable ecological benefits and habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources through on-the-ground marine debris removal activities, with highest priority for those targeting derelict fishing gear and other medium- and large-scale debris. Letters of Intent are due by 11:59pm EST on September 4th.
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New Flood Maps Add 26,000 Maine Properties as Potentially at Risk
Click Lancashire - July 3, 2020
First Street Foundation created a own flood model "using federal elevation and rainfall data, and coastal flooding estimates from hurricanes." Utilizing this model revealed that roughly 26,000 homes that have not been included in FEMA maps may face flood risk within the next three decades. CIRCA's Jim O'Donnell has also found inadequacies with FEMA's maps in Connecticut as well, as properties in the 100-year floodplain are not listed.
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Environmental Groups: R.I. Needs Bold Carbon-Price Plan
Providence Journal - July 5, 2020
In 2017, Sen. William Conley introduced legislation requiring the state to study putting a price on carbon emissions to curb greenhouse gases and help address the causes of climate change. The bill won passage, but it took two years to allocate funding for the study and hire consultants. Now, a host of Rhode Island environmental groups fear that the consulting firms aren’t working to come up with a plan that reaches far enough to accomplish deep cuts in the state’s carbon emissions in line with the latest science from the IPCC.
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Crashing Coastal Property Values and the Economic Fallout of Climate Change
Boston Globe - July 16, 2020
Climate change has taken hold in New England. From the White Mountains to Narragansett Bay, there have been more frequent heat waves; native wildlife and plants are shifting north; and there have been troubling upticks in climate-related ailments like tick-borne diseases and asthma. Not only this, but coastal property value has also felt the impacts of climate change as Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have already lost $403 million in coastal property value.
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Research Brief Discusses Climate Change and Aquaculture
UConn Today - July 21, 2020
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ReClam The Bay To Create Living Shoreline In Little Egg Harbor
TapInto - July 26, 2020
New Jersey's Southern Ocean County is home to dedicated volunteers who comprise the nonprofit group ReClam the Bay. This local organization has been chosen to help turn a rock jetty coast in Little Egg Harbor into a sustainable hybrid living shoreline.
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Florida's New Environmental Laws: A Breakdown
WUSF News - July 6, 2020
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed multiple environmental bills into law. One of which includes that state financed projects must undergo sea level impact projection studies. Given that Florida is home to many vulnerable areas, it is step in the right direction, along with the other laws passed.
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New Climate Report Puts Ocean And Coasts at Forefront in Fight Against Climate Change
Audubon - July 10, 2020
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released a report providing an ambitious roadmap for addressing the climate crisis in the United States. The 535-page report provides detailed legislative recommendations and specifically highlights how restoring and enhancing natural landscapes can play critical roles in reducing climate risks to both people and wildlife, where the ocean and coasts play a central part in this plan.
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Ocean Justice: Where Social Equity And The Climate Fight Intersect
Yale Environment 360 - July 16, 2020
Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson sees her work on ocean conservation as linked to issues of social justice and climate. In an e360 interview, she talks about the need to diversify climate science and activism and bring in the perspectives and energy of people of color and women.
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8 Cities Share How Racial Justice is Embedded Into Their Climate Plans
GreenBiz - July 20, 2020
GreenBiz recently spoke with eight chief sustainability officers and mayors that are part of the Climate Mayors network to understand what actions they are taking to ensure climate justice is embedded into their climate resiliency plans.
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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).
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