Mass ECAN June News
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I hope this month's newsletter finds you looking forward to field work, restorative time outdoors, or some much-deserved vacation as we transition from Spring to Summer!
It is now two weeks out from the National Adaptation Forum and I’m still processing everything I heard. NAF is such a unique experience – to be surrounded by hundreds of fellow adaptation enthusiasts is a rare joy. See below for a few quick takeaways for those who couldn’t make it.
Here's 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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Reflections on the National Adaptation Forum (NAF)
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The 6th NAF took place in May, gathering over a thousand climate adaptation practitioners in St. Paul, MN. It brings together a wonderful mix across sectors, with folks focused on every kind of adaptation you can imagine, including regional collaboratives, fish and wildlife conservation, equity in climate justice communities, managed retreat, urban nature-based solutions, and federal policy-making. Here are a couple overarching takeaways:
1) Be ambitious: The mayor of St. Paul delivered a hopeful welcome, encouraging us to dream bigger and chase that impossible moonshot because those are the solutions we need to face the climate challenge. He reminded us that many have come before us and made the impossible a reality. Sessions on innovation and transformation were reminders that incremental change is nice, but what we really need is more transformative change.
2) Be in relationship: Two members of the Lake Superior Ojibwe shared strategies for how to strengthen authentic relationships with Indigenous peoples and the importance of trust. It was very validating to find that our work to build community and relationships was repeatedly held up over the course of the conference as an essential foundation for successful adaptation.
3) Massachusetts rocks: We had a wonderful Massachusetts showing this year, with 35 folks on our list for our lunch meet up. It’s clear that our state is a leader in the nation and our EEA colleagues always receive praise from other conference attendees. Let’s keep building our MA adaptation community!
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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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This year’s Field Trip series is exploring adaptation actions and nature-based solutions in response to inland flooding.
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. Register here.
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!
Robert Kearns
Restoration Partnerships Coordinator
MA Division of Ecological Restoration
Bio: Robert joined in March as Restoration Partnerships Coordinator, which allows DER to expand this growing program. He has always been interested in restoration and partnerships and most recently, worked at the Charles River Watershed Association, where he was a Watershed Restoration Specialist. In his free time, Robert enjoys spending time with his partner Corinne and exploring nature by land and water, seated in a kayak.
Climate Adaptation Project: In DER's Restoration Partnerships Program currently, there are three partnership regions in the Commonwealth: the Merrimack River Restoration Partnership, the Berkshire Clean, Cold, Connected Restoration Partnership, and the Buzzards Bay Restoration Partnership. These Partnerships are working directly on projects to help advance the scale and pace of restoration. They each have different adaptation initiatives, including culvert replacements, dam removals, and stream restoration. If Robert's work is of interest, feel free to email him.
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Expert Work Group Spotlight
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Each month, we'll highlight 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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The Slow the Flow Expert Work Group convened in 2019 to explore watershed management techniques for climate adaptation that reduce stressors on our rivers and streams, including extreme and variable flows, and the increased occurrence and severity of floods and droughts. This group is interested in adaptation techniques such as increasing natural water storage via floodplain reconnection, conversion of impervious surfaces, beaver management, and restoring complexity and sinuosity to stream channels, all of which support resiliency of natural ecosystems.
In 2023, we expanded our understanding of the science of fluvial geomorphology, heard from state agencies about adaptation work, discussed regulatory barriers, and conducted virtual networking to share peer to peer advice about adaptation challenges. Other recent topics have included lessons learned and forging partnerships through culvert replacement projects.
In the past year, our Watershed-Scale Collaboration subgroup officially spun off into its own expert work group. One of their major accomplishments is the Watershed-Scale Climate Collaboration Toolkit to inspire more of this work.
If you are an expert interested in joining the Slow the Flow quarterly meetings where we share on topics ranging from state and regional resources to watershed modeling, please contact Rosalie Starvish or Julianne Busa.
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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 - Climate Adaptation Forum - Building Social Capital for Climate Resilient Communities. Explore how communities are putting social resilience at the forefront of their adaptation efforts, and specific strategies for building social resilience in priority communities. Hosted by the Sustainable Solutions Lab & Environmental Business Council. 9:30am-12:30pm on 6/6. Hybrid.
Event- 2024 SNEP Symposium. Researchers, practitioners, tribal and municipal partners, and others in the SNEP region share their work related to regional climate resilience, innovation, and adaptation. 8:30am-5:00pm on 6/12. Roger Williams University School of Law.
Event- Invasives and Climate Coffee Talk. Join the NE and NW RISCC for a discussion on the invasive knotweed and climate change feedback loop. 12:00pm-1:00pm on 6/12. Zoom.
Event- Climate Anxiety Workshop. As part of WHOI Sea Grant's Cape Cod Coastal Resilience Week, engage in a webinar discussing climate anxiety with an expert on environmental justice, climate justice and peer mental health support. 12:15pm- 1:15pm on 6/14. Zoom.
Event- 2024 Cape Coastal Conference. Learn about and discuss the best available science-based solutions to address coastal challenges in the Cape and islands region. This year's focus is on action to restore water quality. 9:00am - 5:30pm on 6/18.
Job - Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Specialist, MA Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), Boston. Advance priority projects to support protection, restoration, and resilience of coastal habitats. Provide technical, planning, and communications support for CZM.
Job- Climate Resilience Planning Project Lead, Linnean Solutions, Hybrid. Lead and support projects related to climate resilience, sustainability, and climate justice. Co-lead projects addressing climate change with other planners on the team as well as partner with municipalities.
Job- Finance and Operations Director, American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP), Remote. Provide leadership through network-wide financial planning for an organization that connects and supports climate adaptation professionals.
Job- Berkshire Clean, Cold, and Connected (BCCC) Restoration Coordinator, Housatonic Valley Association, Stockbridge. Identify, plan, and execute aquatic habitat restoration projects. Facilitate partner collaboration and lead regular updates to the BCCC implementation plan.
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In case you've been wondering what to read next..
- MA Equitable and Sustainable Climate Funding: Report compiled by TNC-MA and partners. Along with proposing funding mechanisms, it shares insights on the process of partnership building for the project, including: How can we build equitable, multi-disciplinary coalitions that are prepared to address power dynamics, find common ground, and embrace different perspectives and experiences?
- Happy Pride Month: Let's celebrate our dedicated LGBTQ+ colleagues who have used their talent and creativity to create awareness for the LGBTQ+ movement and climate change action.
- Vatican Climate Summit: See Governor Healey’s remarks here or read about the new Climate Careers Fund here.
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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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