UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability

We are hosting a great talk today! Join us!

Join us for 4 amazing online lectures on sustainable solutions! All are invited to attend! ?? More information and registration links: https://lnkd.in/exfzefqs March 5?- Carolyn Kousky, acting chief economist at the Environmental Defense Fund, will discuss climate risk management, insurance for good, and policy approaches for increasing resilience. The lecture will be held online starting at 12 p.m. March 6?- Michael Beck, director of the Center on Coastal Climate Resilience and AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will explore the natural defense benefits of coastal habitats and how to create openings for new investments in conservation and restoration. The lecture will be held in person at UMass Boston and online?starting at 3 p.m. April 9?- Timon McPhearson, professor of urban ecology and director of the Urban Systems Lab at The New School, will present his work on nature-based solutions for cities and their potential in enhancing social justice. The lecture will be held online starting at 12 p.m. May 12?- Daniela Rizzi, senior expert for nature-based solutions, green infrastructure and biodiversity at Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI, ICLEI Europe)?will discuss her vision for a nature-positive economy. The lecture will be held online starting at 11 a.m. ?? The lecture series is supported by the UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability at University of Massachusetts Amherst, the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy, the School for the Environment at UMass Boston, the UMass Boston Sustainable Solutions Lab, the Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy at University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. #UMass - NATURANCE - NetworkNature EU - UMass Boston Research #SustainableSolutions #NatureBasedSolutions #UrbanEcology #Resilience #EngineeringForNature #NaturePositiveInsurance #NaturePositiveEconomy #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateChange #ECODRR

?? Need a dose of optimism? Join us for 4 amazing online lectures on sustainable solutions! All are invited to attend. ?? More information and registration links: https://lnkd.in/exfzefqs March 5?- Carolyn Kousky, acting chief economist at the Environmental Defense Fund, will discuss climate risk management, insurance for good, and policy approaches for increasing resilience. The lecture will be held online starting at 12 p.m. March 6?- Michael Beck, director of the Center on Coastal Climate Resilience and AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will explore the natural defense benefits of coastal habitats and how to create openings for new investments in conservation and restoration. The lecture will be held in person at UMass Boston and online?starting at 3 p.m. April 9?- Timon McPhearson, professor of urban ecology and director of the Urban Systems Lab at The New School, will present his work on nature-based solutions for cities and their potential in enhancing social justice. The lecture will be held online starting at 12 p.m. May 12?- Daniela Rizzi, senior expert for nature-based solutions, green infrastructure and biodiversity at Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI, ICLEI Europe)?will discuss her vision for a nature-positive economy. The lecture will be held online starting at 11 a.m. ?? The lecture series is supported by the UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability at University of Massachusetts Amherst, the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy, the School for the Environment at UMass Boston, the UMass Boston Sustainable Solutions Lab, the Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy at University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. #UMass - NATURANCE - NetworkNature EU - UMass Boston Research #SustainableSolutions #NatureBasedSolutions #UrbanEcology #Resilience #EngineeringForNature #NaturePositiveInsurance #NaturePositiveEconomy #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateChange #ECODRR

We surveyed Massachusetts municipalities to learn more about climate change resilience of local transportation infrastructure/services. Video: https://lnkd.in/ez5iRg4j Slides: https://lnkd.in/eZFdGKyu ?? Highlights ?? ?? More than 40% of municipalities reported?significant to severe impacts of climate change ?? Impacts are perceived in numerous sectors of the Blue Economy including (but not limited to) commercial fisheries, energy sector, port services, transportation, construction, real estate, and tourism ??Groups most frequently identified as most vulnerable: elderly residents, low-income households, people with disabilities and children ??MA municipalities are very engaged in developing a large array of resilience strategies including Nature-based Solutions ?? ?? Primary barriers to the design, planning and implementation of resilience strategies: limited?resources (including limited staffing capacity and grant-writing capacity) and insufficient technical expertise I am super proud of our interdisciplinary team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Engineering, UMass Amherst: Eleni Christofa, Chengbo Ai and Michael Knodler. UMass LARP: Camille Barchers UMass Amherst School of Public Policy and SBS UMass: Marta Vicarelli, Saniya Jain, Ishaan Singh Sarna Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst: Sarah Welch, Eric Shen We are very grateful to the UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability for financing our research. Thank you to its director, Rob DeConto, for his support and for participating in this webinar. Our gratitude goes also to our partners, the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the UMass Transportation Center (UMTC), for supporting our data collection efforts. Many thanks to MassDOT for inviting us to present our work! #ClimateResilience #ClimateImpacts #Transportation #Infrastructure #NatureBasedSolutions Photo credit: NBC Boston?-?Newton, Massachusetts, after a storm hit the region on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.

?? We are proud to sponsor the Sustainable Solutions Lectures Series! This initiative seeks to promote research collaborations across the #UMass system and create a forum where academia and the public and private sectors can develop responses to development challenges ranging from rising sea levels to renewable energy. All are invited to attend! #sustainability #resilience #NatureBasedSolutions

Really excited to be a part of this great series! Thanks, Marta Vicarelli!

?? Need good news? Join us for 4 amazing online lectures on sustainable solutions! All are invited to attend. March 5?- Carolyn Kousky, acting chief economist at the Environmental Defense Fund, will discuss climate risk management, insurance for good, and policy approaches for increasing resilience. The lecture will be held online starting at 12 p.m.? ? March 6?- Michael Beck, director of the Center on Coastal Climate Resilience and AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will explore the natural defense benefits of coastal habitats and how to create openings for new investments in conservation and restoration. The lecture will be held in person at UMass Boston and online?starting at 3 p.m.? ? April 9?- Timon McPhearson, professor of urban ecology and director of the Urban Systems Lab at The New School, will present his work on nature-based solutions for cities and their potential in enhancing social justice. The lecture will be held online starting at 12 p.m.?? ? May 12?- Daniela Rizzi, senior expert for nature-based solutions, green infrastructure and biodiversity at Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI, ICLEI Europe)?will discuss her vision for a nature-positive economy. The lecture will be held online starting at 11 a.m. ?? More information and registration links: https://lnkd.in/exfzefqs ?? The lecture series is supported by the UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability at University of Massachusetts Amherst, the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy, the School for the Environment at UMass Boston, the UMass Boston Sustainable Solutions Lab, the Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy at University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. #UMass - NATURANCE - NetworkNature EU #SustainableSolutions #NatureBasedSolutions #UrbanEcology #Resilience #EngineeringForNature #NaturePositiveInsurance #NaturePositiveEconomy #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateChange #ECODRR

Congratulations to the participants of the 2025 Global Sustainable Solutions Winter School for successfully completing the program! The Winter School, involving more than 60 graduate students from partner universities, is a knowledge platform with networking opportunities with global experts. The focus is on: ?? Nature-based Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction (ECO-DRR)?and Climate Adaptation ?? Biodiversity conservation The Winter School is a collaboration between the following institutions: ??United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) ??United Nations University-MERIT ??United Nations University - CRIS ??PEDRR Secretariat ?? University of Massachusetts Amherst?(USA) -?UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability?and?UMass Amherst School of Public Policy ??UMass Boston Research?(USA) -?School for the Environment ??University of Massachusetts Lowell ??University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ??McMaster University?(Canada) Huge thanks to our amazing speakers and partners: Nidhi Nagabhatla, Yvonne Walz, Simone Sandholz, Karen Sudmeier-Rieux Sanae Okamoto, Ivelin Zvezdov (Verisk), Jaroslav Mysiak (CMCC Foundation - Centro Euro Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici), Ulrike Krauss (Caribbean Biodiversity Fund), Boris van Zanten (The World Bank), Sean Goodwin (BC3 - Basque Centre for Climate Change), Alison Bowden (The Nature Conservancy), NATURANCE This program would have not been possible without the financial support of the UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability - Rob DeConto, Darci Maresca and the support of the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy - Jane E. Fountain For more information: https://lnkd.in/ejbUKgB Recordings of the lectures will be posted on LinkedIn in the coming month. #NatureBasedSolutions #NBS #resilience #biodiversity #WinterSchool

Interested in Nature-based Solutions? ?? Do not miss the video recording of this event! https://lnkd.in/endwAqwV The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, The Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Network for Engineering With Nature hosted the National Practice Forum on Nature-based Solutions (#NBS) at the National Academies Beckman Center in Irvine, CA on February 4-5, 2025. ??The Practice Forum brought together national leaders and practitioners to focus on challenges and innovations in scaling NBS for hazard mitigation and climate adaptation. ?? I was honored to participate in a panel session moderated by Kristin Ludwig, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Hazards Mission Area, with Chris Clavin, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Thomas Smith, Executive Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The whole event was a wonderfully organized enriching learning experience! ?? My gratitude goes to the stellar organizing team and to all those who supported the organization of this event, including Michael Beck, Todd Bridges, Chancellor Cynthia Larive, Heather Tallis, Megan Kelso, Negin Sobhani, Provost S. Jack Hu, Stephanie Houser, Courtney Chambers, Amanda Tritinger, PhD, PE, Devyani Kar, PhD, PMP, CFM, Francis Wiese, Christopher Lee Allen, Luce Bassetti (PhD, WEDG, ENV SP, GISP), Jorgen Blomberg, Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems The Practice Forum follows: ?? the Policy Forum on NBS in February, 2024 https://lnkd.in/esYQS7G2 ?? the Measuring What Matters Summit in November, 2022 https://lnkd.in/ejrhwAwh

?? Are Nature-based Solutions effective? Are they cost-effective? ?? ?? Webinar recording, courtesy of the National Adaptation Forum ?? SPEAKERS Lara Hansen,?Executive Director and Chief Scientist, EcoAdapt Deborah Rudnick, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, EcoAdapt Marta Vicarelli,?Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst? Douglas Mason Mason, Director, Millennium Challenge Corporation Monica Dean-Millman, Director, Public Exchange Climate and Sustainability Practice, University of Southern California MODERATOR? Daniella Rolle, National Adaptation Forum Program Associate, EcoAdapt and CivicSpark Fellow, CivicSpark ?? RESOURCES ?? White House Report on Effectiveness of NBS https://lnkd.in/euthDC_c ?? Article on Cost-Effectiveness of NBS https://lnkd.in/ePtCPRv9 - I am grateful to the following organizations for supporting my research: UMass Amherst - School of Earth & Sustainability UMass Amherst School of Public Policy University of Massachusetts Amherst CMCC Foundation - Centro Euro Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici #NatureBasedSolutions #ClimateAdaptation #DisasterRiskReduction