Mass ECAN May News
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Happy Spring! This time of year is very full of activity, as evidenced by our packed newsletter.
If, like me, you are reminiscing fondly about our Spring conference last year, do not fret. While we aren’t holding a conference this month, we are planning a line-up of great events for the rest of the year, including our annual Fall Field Trips (see below) and skill-building trainings. More soon!
In case you missed it, we’re also very excited about our new pilot Ambassador Awards Program! This is a unique opportunity to have your outreach efforts amplified through our community of practice, interact with a cohort of like-minded peers, and get a little funding to help you out. I hope that you’ll apply and encourage your colleagues to as well (see below for details)!
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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Ambassador Awards Program
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We are excited to announce the launch of our new pilot Ambassador Awards Program! This Program is a unique opportunity to share lessons learned from your past projects with peers, with the goal of making exemplary adaptation practices mainstream in our adaptation community. This could be the perfect time to create that outreach material that you've been meaning to get around to!
See the Call for Applications for details and apply here by May 20th.
Please share this announcement with your colleagues!
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This year’s Field Trip series is exploring adaptation actions and nature-based solutions in response to inland flooding.
Save the Date!
Easthampton Field Trip
Sept. 5 (rain date Sept. 12), 10am-1pm
Join us to explore green infrastructure projects in a residential setting and learn about community engagement and maintenance. Stay for optional snack/networking time from 12pm-1pm. Registration will open next month.
Check back for more events soon! These events are organized by Mass ECAN, the MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, the MA Division of Ecological Restoration, and local project partners.
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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!
Gabriela Boscio Santos
Associate Director,
Sustainable Solutions Lab (SSL), UMass Boston
Bio: Gabriela has worked in the climate sector for over a decade, including at Boston University, Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), and Second Nature. At SSL, she helps craft the organization’s direction and manages projects and networks. Gabriela has also been involved in planning the Climate Adaptation Forum since 2018. As a Puerto Rican and resident of Chelsea and East Boston, she is deeply invested in environmental justice and believes climate action and resilience must first address injustice to not replicate oppressive systems. She is motivated by the question: “What kind of future do we want to build together?”
Climate Adaptation Project: SSL is a collaborative research and action institute focused on keeping historically excluded people and communities safe and healthy in the face of climate change. Gabriela is currently working on creating resources for community engagement to support adaptation practitioners and researchers. On June 18th, SSL and Mass ECAN will be hosting a joint workshop on this topic. Learn more and register for the Transformative Community Engagement Workshop below.
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Transformative Community Engagement Workshop
Tuesday, June 18th, 9am-5pm
Olver Design Building, Room 170
UMass Amherst
In this one-day workshop, we invite researchers and practitioners working on climate justice and adaptation in the Northeast to join us in a conversation on community engagement.
Community engagement is having a “moment,” but how can we use this renewed attention across sectors as an opportunity to build on a long history of organizing and engagement work to meet the needs of the current realities? We will curate a welcoming space to hear from experts at community-building organizations and academia, learn from case studies, and collaboratively workshop around the questions: “What does transformative community engagement for climate resilience look like? And what is the ultimate goal?”
This workshop is intended as an active and participatory process. We invite thought partners with some community engagement experience who want to go deeper to participate. This event is co-hosted with the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston and will prioritize members of Mass ECAN or the Northeast Climate Justice Research Collaborative. Learn more and RSVP here.
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Funding Opportunity - Fiscal Year 2025 Research Awards, Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (NE CASC). For projects that inform high-priority and cultural heritage resource management issues that can benefit from climate adaptation science and traditional knowledge. Submit statements of interest from affiliate institutions by 5/23.
Funding Opportunity - Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants, MA Office of Coastal Zone Management. Eligible project activities include assessment and remediation of stormwater pollution, comprehensive habitat restoration planning, municipal capacity-building activities to implement green stormwater infrastructure, and advanced planning to support land acquisition. Proposals due by 6/7.
Event - Human Modifications to Salt Marshes in the Northeastern US, NE CASC. This webinar will explore: (1) What are the spatial patterns of salt marsh vulnerability to relative sea level rise across the Northeast? (2) And how is this vulnerability linked to specific salt marsh modifications? Attend via zoom at 4pm on 5/8.
Event - National Adaptation Forum (NAF), Saint Paul, MN, 5/14-5/16. Register for the conference here. We’re organizing a Massachusetts lunch gathering so if you are attending, let Melissa know!
Event - “Inundation District” Film Screening & Panel Discussion, Environmental Business Council and Climate Adaptation Forum. The film interrogates the rapid development of the Boston Seaport during a time of accelerating climate impacts. There will be a moderated panel discussion with the director and adaptation experts. Hosted at Foley Hoag LLP, 4pm - 7pm on 5/15.
Event - Climate Adaptation Forum - Building Social Capital for Climate Resilient Communities. Explore how communities are putting social resilience at the forefront of their climate adaptation efforts, and specific strategies for building social resilience in priority communities. 9:30am-2:30pm on 6/6. Hybrid.
Request for input - Climate Resilience Playbook, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, MVP program, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. The Playbook is designed to help communities identify, prioritize, and implement strategies to enhance their physical and social resilience to climate change. Insights are needed from municipal staff and community partners to make the resource as applicable as possible. See this short survey by 5/16, or express interest in a 1 hour focus group.
Request for input - Planning for the National Climate Assessment (NCA 6) is underway and you are invited to provide comments on the proposed scope and themes, nominate authors, and submit scientific and technical inputs here by 6/7. Attend their webinar on 5/9 at 3pm for details.
Job - Watershed Restoration Project Manager, Buzzards Bay Coalition, New Bedford. Manage the development, design, and implementation of coastal, wetland and riverine ecological restoration projects throughout the watershed. Coordinate the Buzzards Bay Watershed Restoration Partnership.
Job - Education & Access Communications Manager, Mass Audubon, Lincoln. Develop communications strategies, craft content, and execute multi-channel campaigns to drive visibility and support for programs that support the goal of creating more equitable access to nature, careers in the environment, and nature-based education.
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Expert Work Group Spotlight
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Each month, we'll be highlighting one of our Expert Work Groups so you can learn about their latest activities! Our affiliated Work Groups are for experts on various climate adaptation topics that require cross-organizational collaboration for success.
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 First organized in 2019, the Southern New England Forest Climate Adaptation Network (SNE Forest CAN) brings together scientists, natural resource managers, and conservation professionals who are actively engaged in work related to forest adaptation in our region. The group fosters collaboration and the sharing of expertise across organizations so that managers and landowners can be better informed about potential climate change adaptation strategies for Northeastern forests. The group also provides a venue for members to share their adaptation projects with a trusted group of colleagues and advance their work on the ground.
In the fall, group members visited the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change Exurban Oak affiliate site at Mohegan State Forest, CT, to see examples of adaptation strategies, including resistance, resilience, transition, and no action. Participants also saw strategies to protect regenerating oak seedlings at the Spring Hill Tract of the UConn Research Forest. The trip fostered fruitful discussion around different approaches to maintain forest benefits, including forest carbon and bird habitat, in a changing climate and strengthened connections among managers implementing climate-smart forestry practices. Other recent efforts from group members include participating in the MA Forests as Climate Solutions Climate Forestry advisory committee, developing MA Forest Climate Stewardship Planning trainings for licensed foresters, and the MA Climate Smart Incentive Program (CSIP) that launched for landowners. For more information, contact group co-lead Samantha Myers.
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In case you've been wondering what to read next..
- Celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month: Take time this month to appreciate and highlight our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander colleagues advancing climate adaptation. Read about the latest climate change polling of AANHPI adults in the U.S. here.
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Funding Collaborative Capacity: In case you missed it, check out our newest piece in the Mass ECAN Watershed Scale Climate Collaboration Toolkit -- the takeaways and recommendations from our workshop on funding for collaborative capacity.
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New Resource: A four-year partnership between NE CASC, Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (NEAFWA), and 20 State Wildlife Action Plan Coordinators has culminated in a landmark report to enhance natural resource management and help conserve biodiversity in the Northeast.
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Meet the Mass ECAN Interns
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 Angel Checo-Reynoso will be interning with our Salt Marsh Work Group for two semesters, thanks to a partnership with POCIE - Professionals of Color in the Environment. Angel is passionate about aquatic ecosystems and herpetological fauna. He aims to pursue a career related to the restoration and conservation of wetlands. Angel is a rising senior at UMass Amherst pursuing dual degrees in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Conservation, with a concentration in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, and additionally completing a certificate program in Marine and Coastal Sciences through the Five Colleges Consortium. This summer, he will work with the USFWS at the Eastern MA National Wildlife Refuge Complex doing Blanding’s turtle monitoring and invasives control.
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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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