Mass ECAN May News
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Spring is in full swing! I hope you are able to recharge your batteries this month by spending time outside with the emerging foliage, flowers and critters.
Along with all these spring happenings, there has also been a lot of activity within the climate adaptation community. See below for news specifically curated for our community of practice:
Please share this newsletter with a colleague and invite them to join us.
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Best,
Melissa Ocana
Climate Adaptation Coordinator, UMass Amherst
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Mass ECAN Member Spotlight
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Every month, we highlight someone in our community of practice so you can learn about a variety of adaptation work and "meet" a new colleague!
Patrick Lynch 
Director of Policy and Planning
Ipswich River Watershed Association
Bio: Patrick directs regional coalition-building, municipal partnerships, and environmental policy, including supporting municipal staff on resiliency planning. Patrick helps coordinate the Parker-Ipswich-Essex Rivers Partnership, a regional resiliency partnership which serves 29 communities on the North Shore. Previously, he spent eight years in Chile running an environmental foundation and working on community-led conservation. Patrick holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School and is an attorney and filmmaker specializing in advocating for community-based solutions to the climate crisis.
Climate change adaptation project he's currently excited about: Patrick is currently leading the launch of the Endangered Ipswich Campaign to support community leaders in adapting to increased water scarcity and drought brought on by climate change. In April, the Ipswich River was designated one of the ten Most Endangered Rivers in the country. As part of the campaign, the team is partnering with Mass Audubon and the PIE-Rivers Partnership to propose solutions for residents, municipalities, and state policy makers, and to provide bylaw review training and assistance to Essex County communities. You can contact Patrick for more information about this project.
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Award Opportunity - Nominations for the Climate Adaptation Leadership Awards are now open! This honor recognizes efforts to bolster natural resources in a changing climate and is organized by the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and partners. Submit nominations here by 5/16.
- Have questions? Attend virtual office hours on 5/14 from 1:00-3:00PM. Register here.
Climate Tool - The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) announces the launch of Resilient MA Action Team Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool beta version and opening for stakeholder feedback. This tool will help integrate climate projections and climate resilience design standards into state and local projects. Submit your feedback here. Learn more here.
Grant Tool - The EEA Climate Grant Viewer is now available as a tool to explore EEA grantee projects that address climate change preparedness, adaptation, and/or resilience to increasing temperatures, changing precipitation, extreme weather, and sea level rise.
Funding Opportunity - The FY22 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Grant Program Planning Grants provide support for cities and towns to complete climate vulnerability assessments and develop action-oriented climate resiliency plans. Applications due 6/4. Learn more from their Webinar Recording.
Funding Opportunity - Coastal Resilience Grant Program - The Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) is funding coastal communities and nonprofit organizations to reduce risks associated with coastal storms and sea level rise impacts. View the Request for Responses (RFR). Proposals are due 5/24.
Funding Opportunity - The Stone Living Laboratory at Boston Harbor Islands Parks released their RFP. Awards are available for governmental and non-profit organizations to research social and economic co-benefits of nature-based solutions for coastal flood protection. Preproposals are due 5/15. View the RFP here.
Funding Opportunity - SNEP Pilot Watershed Initiative Request for Applications. The EPA is working with Southeast New England Program (SNEP) to establish pilot watersheds that will address environmental challenges through collaborative efforts and holistic watershed scale planning in their region. Applications due 5/28.
Shoutout - Congratulations to Resilient Mystic Collaborative for being recognized by the Environmental Business Council New England, Inc. for their Leadership by a Non-Profit Organization Award.
Shoutout - Metropolitan Area Planning Council MAPC Awards $400k in Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grants, with support from the Barr Foundation. Check out the grantees and their projects! All grantees become part of a Resilience Community of Practice including a webinar series. Join the next webinar on the intersection between Climate Resiliency and Racial Justice on 5/25 at 11:00 AM. Register here.
Webinar - Climate Migration: International Pressures, Local Realities, Climate Adaptation Forum. Learn about the global migration in response to climate impacts on 6/4 from 10:00 AM-1:00PM. Register here.
Webinar - Living with Heat/Green Infrastructure - Join the Environmental Business Council for their next climate change webinar on 5/20 from 9:00AM-12:00PM.
Webinar - Climate Change, Adaptation and Impacts on Forest Bird Recovery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forests for the Birds: Conserving America's Forest Birds webinar series. Hear from Mass ECAN member Maria Janowiak. 5/18 at 1:00 PM. Register here.
Webinar - COVID-19 and Climate: Lifting Up Lessons from the Pandemic for Resilient Communities, Barr Foundation. Consider how the lessons learned from the pandemic shape equity-centered climate work on 5/25 at 1:00 PM.
Academic Program - Worcester Polytechnic Institute launches a new Master's in Community Climate Adaptation. Work within teams to use engineering, social science, and physical and biological science skills to address climate change challenges and adapt in communities around the world. Listen to this America Adapts podcast to learn more.
Job - Central Region Director, Mass Audubon, Worcester and Princeton. Work with the community to engage new audiences, address the effects of climate change, and protect and steward natural habitats. Apply here.
Job - Clean Heat Manager, Contractor, Boston. Join the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Climate Team and support contract and project management for the MA Climate Change Assessment. Priority applications due by 5/14.
Job - Climate Justice Coordinator, Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative. Implement a three-year action plan to help mitigate the impact of climate change and build community resilience, engagement, and policy change along the Fairmount corridor neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park. Apply by 5/21.
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Welcome our summer intern!
Zoe Murphy
Zoe is a rising junior at UMass Amherst majoring in environmental science with minors in sustainable community development and resource economics. She is interested in sustainability practices and climate adaptation, and is excited to learn more about these topics. She hopes to go to grad school to gather the skills and knowledge needed to become an effective changemaker.
Thanks to the UMass CAFE Scholars Program for supporting Zoe this summer!
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In case you've been wondering what to read next....
- Federal administration updates:
- Celebrate AAPI heritage month: This is a great time to appreciate Asian/Pacific American colleagues and the AAPI voices advancing climate action and science. For other ways to support peers in these challenging times, see these anti-hate/racism resources.
- Climate impacts on coastal forests: This USDA Climate Hub and Rutgers University research brief outlines how rising sea levels and intense storms along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast are damaging and killing coastal forests.
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