Collections (beta)
Collections (beta)
These collections showcase interrelated NERRS Science Collaborative projects. Select a collection below the map to read more and see the map update with interactive elements.
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Click tiles below to display project collections. View project pages to learn more.
Awareness of climate change is growing, and many groups are addressing the issue and sharing lessons learned in order to help communities prepare in the face of uncertainty.
These nine projects, supported by the Science Collaborative between 2015 and 2018, are a just a subset of the resilience and adaptation work being led by the reserves. The map shows how collective learning and accelerated action for climate resilience is facilitated by the interconnectedness of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Numbered dots indicate the location of the lead reserve for each project. Color-coded lines indicate an exchange of information, tools, or activities between reserves and partners.
Awareness of climate change is growing, and many groups are addressing the issue and sharing lessons learned in order to help communities prepare in the face of uncertainty; however, the pace of learning must also accelerate to keep up with the increasing rate at which climate change impacts natural and built environments. To meet this need, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and its partners are exploring a range of approaches to enhance climate resilience and finding ways to transfer methods and lessons learned.
Panel Webinar (September 9, 2019): Accelerating Collective Learning and Action for Enhanced Climate Resilience
Carrying Out Climate Scenario Planning for the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
To help coastal communities on the Kenai Peninsula plan for a changing climate, this project engaged local stakeholders to collaboratively develop plausible future planning scenarios based on a wide range of possible environmental responses to a changing climate. In addition, the project team hosted art and science workshops in which elementary students investigated climate science, graphed real data showing local impacts, and illustrated climate issues in silk paintings.
Partner Reserves
- Kachemak Bay, AK
- Tijuana River, CA
Coastal Hazards Risk Communication
The Jacques Cousteau reserve in New Jersey became especially attuned to the need for better risk communication in the months following Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the region but opened up opportunities for talking about future risks. Reserve staff saw an opportunity to incorporate their own observations and lessons learned into standard risk communication training materials to make them more real and locally relevant.
To transfer this work, a project team - made up of specialists from the Jacques Cousteau, Chesapeake Bay-Maryland, Narragansett Bay, and Weeks Bay Reserves, the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, and the NOAA Office for Coastal Management - created a unique two-day training program, which combines risk communication training with an opportunity to apply the principles to local projects and programs in a workshop setting. The program has been used in five states to help decision makers learn the skills needed to communicate about risks better and improve the effectiveness of their resilience planning and hazard management initiatives.
What’s more, thanks to the propensity of reserves to transfer knowledge and tools across sites and with partners, project participants didn’t need to create their own tools to assess or communicate risk; instead, they learned from their colleagues’ work and applied lessons within their local context.
Partner Reserves
- Chesapeake Bay, MD
- Delaware
- Jacques Cousteau, NJ
- Narragansett Bay, RI
- Weeks Bay, AL
Carrying Out Climate Scenario Planning for the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Decreasing Vulnerability in Maine's Beaches Business Community
Promoting Coastal Community Resilience through Alaska Fisheries Business Self-Assessments
Coastal Hazards Risk Communication
Georgetown Climate Adaptation Project (GCAP): Custom Role Playing Simulations for South Carolina
Enhancing Coastal Resilience Decision-Support Tools to Reflect Latest Local Applied Science
Resilience Metrics: Tools, Techniques, and Tactics for Advancing Successful Climate Adaptation
Assessing the Effects of Storm Surge Barriers on the Hudson River Estuary
A Collaborative Process to Develop Solutions for Tidal Road Flooding in China Camp State Park
Game Changer: New England Climate Change Adaptation Project