Mass ECAN February News
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I hope you are finding beauty in the winter weather and enjoying the return of the sun (finally)! The year is already picking up speed as evidenced by the many upcoming conferences and announcements shared this month.
See below for our newsletter that's specifically curated for our community of practice:
Feel free to share this newsletter with a colleague and invite them to join us!
Best,
Melissa Ocana
Climate Adaptation Coordinator, UMass Amherst
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Expert Work Group Spotlight
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Our affiliated work groups have been busy since we last featured their updates here! Over the next few months, we’ll be highlighting each expert work group to learn about their latest activities. See a summary of all our work groups here.
Climate Communications Expert Work Group
The Climate Communications Expert Work Group builds community, creates and compiles best practices and resources, and fosters collaboration among climate communication practitioners. Group members determine priorities based on collective goals and member needs, in addition to supporting other Mass ECAN work groups to make effective climate communications more accessible.
Over the last year, the group has focused on growing membership and connecting to climate communications professionals throughout Massachusetts, hosting “deep-dive” learning opportunities, and developing resources such as the Watershed-Scale Climate Collaboration outreach toolkit (a cross-Work Group collaboration). In the next year, we look forward to continuing to grow our group, fostering more peer-to-peer learning, and providing climate communications resources for the broader climate resilience and adaptation community.
We welcome all climate and environmental communications professionals to join our Work Group! If you are interested in joining, please contact co-leads Rishya Narayanan and Krista Haas.
  
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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!
Pallavi Kalia Mande
Director of Climate Resilient Design
BSC Group
Adaptation Project:  Most of Pallavi’s early Blue Cities/ Green Infrastructure projects have been implemented in Metro Boston. However, since joining the BSC Group she has expanded her climate resilience work across MA leading a multidisciplinary team of environmental planners, coastal engineers, ecologists, urban designers, and landscape architects, with projects like the Stow Acres Climate Resilience Master Plan in Stow MA. Most of her current work is funded via the MVP program by MA EOEEA and local municipalities, in partnership with environmental non-profits or community based organizations.
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Webinar - Two upcoming webinars on the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5):
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NCA5 Summary for the Northeast, Environmental Business Council. Hear an overview of the assessment, with a focus on key messages for the Northeast. Speakers are all NCA5 contributors. 2/15, 12-1pm.
- NCA5 Webinar: Adaptation, U.S. Global Change Research Program. Hear about the findings of the adaptation chapter from the authors themselves in a virtual one-hour event. 2/15, 3-4pm.
Webinar - Winter Webinar Series, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. 10am-12pm.
Webinar - Informational Session, MVP Program. The next Request for Responses (RFR) for MVP Action Grants will be released mid-March. The MVP team will host two webinars to answer questions ahead of the RFR release. 3/6, 10-11am or 3/7, 10-11am.
Public Comment Period - Wetlands Protection Act Amendments, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection. MassDEP issued draft regulations to strengthen wetlands and stormwater resilience by providing flood control and preventing storm damage to shorelines and infrastructure from the impacts of climate change. Public comment period closes 3/1.
Call for Input - 2024 Strategic Plan, MassGIS. All geospatial data and technology users, including in federal agencies, non-profit organizations, higher education, private sector, and municipal, regional, and state government, are invited to participate in development of the strategy. Survey here. Workshops from 2/20-3/7 across MA.
Call for Presentations - Rally 2024, Land Trust Alliance. Share your expertise in climate change, engaging community, stewarding and restoring land, and more, at the National Land Conservation Conference in Providence, 9/25-9/28. Proposals due 2/20.
Call for Nominations - Community Action Award, Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network (NE RISCC). Nominate individuals that have demonstrated passion, dedication, and leadership in their community around invasive species and climate change. Due 2/16.
Job - Charles River Watershed Association, Boston.
- Project Manager - Lead and support projects to site and design green stormwater infrastructure. Contribute to a watershed-wide restoration plan. Apply by 2/9.
- Development Associate - Provide critical support for fundraising and donor engagement efforts, including grant management, fundraising emails, and special events. Apply by 2/23.
- Advocacy Director - Oversee all aspects of advocacy initiatives, with the goal of improving environmental policies and outcomes across the watershed and beyond, and effectively integrating climate equity and environmental justice. Apply by 3/1.
Job - Water Resources Project Manager, VHB, Watertown. Assist clients with developing solutions to water resources, ecological restoration, and other environmental challenges. Projects may include stormwater designs, stream restorations, flood management, and coastal resiliency.
Job - Associate or Junior Mediator/Facilitator, Consensus Building Institute, Cambridge. Balance a portfolio of projects on wide-ranging issues. Help develop, design, and implement effective and engaging collaborative processes.
Job - Executive Director, Ipswich River Watershed Association. Drive implementation of watershed conservation, restoration, education, advocacy, stewardship and recreation programs, projects, and policies to improve the river for people and wildlife.
Job - Land Use Planner, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), Boston. Manage grant program to assist municipalities with implementation of land use regulations to reduce resource consumption and mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Job - Assistant Secretary/Director of Coastal Zone Management, EOEEA, Boston. Oversee and manage CZM program areas including municipal technical assistance, ocean management, local and regional coordination, water quality and habitat protection and enhancement, coastal shoreline/floodplain management and climate resilience.
Job - Division of Ecological Restoration, Boston.
- Ecological Restoration Engineer - Work across restoration programs to ensure projects use best engineering practices and incorporate climate change appropriately into design work.
- Ecological Restoration Planner - Support the planning needs for a diverse range of restoration projects including river and stream continuity, dam removal, and regional restoration partnerships.
Job - Program Coordinator, American Society of Adaptation Professionals, remote. Enable peer learning, collaboration, and capacity building for Members by supporting activities across program areas.
Job - Senior Environmental Scientist, Woods Hole Group, Inc., Bourne. Manage projects and lead personnel as part of a multi-disciplinary environmental consulting team with emphasis on the coastal zone and associated sensitive habitats, environmental policy, permitting, and design challenges in a changing climate.
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February 21-22 - Annual Conference and Eco-Marketplace, Ecological Landscape Alliance.Engage and reflect on where the industry has been, hear lessons learned, prepare and adapt for the future, and inspire each other to build and maintain resilient landscapes that work in harmony with the life that supports them. Register here. 11am-4pm on Zoom.
February 27-28: Invasive Species & Climate Change Symposium, NE RISCC. Interactive sessions and networking covering terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. Sessions include communicating about climate change and invasive species, and invasives impacts on climate mitigation & adaptation. Register here. 11am-3pm on Zoom.
March 2: MA Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) Annual Environmental Conference, The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester. Get updates and expert insights on laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and technologies that are important for natural resource protection and climate change mitigation across 29 workshops. Register here.
Catch fellow Mass ECAN members speaking at the highlighted sessions below!
- 9:45-11:00am - Increasing Momentum of Ecological Restoration Programs for Climate Adaptation: A Panel Discussion on Identifying Opportunities to Increase Capacity across the Commonwealth
- Kristen Ferry, DER
- Ian Balcom, DER
- Carrie Banks, DER
- 1:45-2:45pm - Demystifying Dam Removal: Resources to Help Navigate the Long Process
- Susie Bresney, DER
- Stefanie Covino, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative
- Robert Kearns, Charles River Watershed Association
- 3:00-4:00pm - Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) 101 and Regulatory Updates
- Jennifer Hughes, MEPA Office; Town of Ipswich; MACC
March 16 - Massachusetts Citizen Planner Training Collaborative Conference, The College of the Holy Cross, Worcester. CPTC is a collaboration of citizens, nonprofit organizations and government agencies providing essential and advanced training to citizen and professional planners involved in municipal planning and land use. Registration and schedule coming soon.
March 23 - Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, MassLand, UMass Amherst. Join for 25 sessions across a range of critical conservation topics; a Keynote address on land protection and conservation from an Indigenous perspective; and plenty of time for networking. Workshop schedule here. Register here.
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In case you've been wondering what to read next...
- Innovation in Climate Adaptation: The National Wildlife Federation, USGS Climate Adaptation Science Center Network, and IUCN released a new guide emphasizing the importance of advancing more impactful climate adaptation through innovative strategies. Read more here or download the guide here.
- Black Climate Leadership:
- February is Black History Month, and we are celebrating our Black colleagues who are leading the way on climate adaptation!
- Black voters show higher concern and take action to address climate change at higher rates than the national average, as seen in a recent analysis by the Brookings Institute.
- EOEEA 2023 Report: The MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) released a report of the agency’s accomplishments in 2023.
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Have Something to Add?
Sharing in the Newsletters
Do you have something related to climate adaptation that you would like to see in a future newsletter? If you have project, job posting, event, outreach product, or something else that you’d like to submit for consideration, you can fill out this google form. Please note that this does not guarantee inclusion. We’ll select the climate adaptation items most relevant to our community of practice to continue to provide a curated newsletter. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Why am I getting this email?
Welcome to Mass ECAN!
You are receiving this email because you joined Mass ECAN.
Welcome to a supportive community of climate adaptation practitioners and researchers who are interested in ecosystem resilience and natural resources conservation in Massachusetts.
Mass ECAN is creating a space for us to learn from and with each other. Together, we can build capacity for climate adaptation that promotes ecosystem resilience and weaves natural resources conservation into actions across sectors. Mass ECAN is coordinated by UMass Extension. |
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