WASHINGTON ― The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today awards totaling $3.7 million to support four projects that engage communities to design nature-based solutions to mitigate climate-related hazards. This is the second and final phase of a grant which focuses on the importance of nature-based solutions as resilient infrastructure to lessen the impacts of a changing climate.  

Nature-based solutions use or imitate natural processes to achieve a desired outcome, such as building oyster reefs along coasts to reduce storm surge during hurricanes. The second phase of this grant supports projects by teams from the initial planning phase that address climate-related hazards, such as flooding or heatwaves.   

“Nature-based solutions are a critical piece of the community resilience puzzle, creating multiple benefits and additional value for communities,” said Daniel Burger, senior program manager of the Gulf Research Program’s Gulf Health and Resilience Board. “Each of these projects will demonstrate the value added by the inclusion of community members in the planning and design of projects that reduce exposure to weather and climate hazards.” 

The funded projects include:  

Community Ownership Model for the Design of Nature-Based Solutions Along the North Claiborne Corridor
Project Director: Dr. Angela Chalk, Healthy Community Services 
Project Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Award Amount: $1,000,000 
Project Team 

• Cheryl Austin, Greater Treme Consortium 
• Gaynell Brady, Lower 9^th Ward Homeownership Association 
• Kimberley Doley, Water Wise Gulf South 
• Katherine Prevost, Upper 9^th Ward Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association 
• Jeffrey Supak, Water Wise Gulf South 

Project Summary:
This project convenes community-based organizations and a network of engaged residents in at-risk communities, partners across local government agencies, and technical experts in the fields of engineering, landscape architecture, and valuation. Its purpose is to develop a replicable, scalable, community ownership model of envisioning, designing and implementing nature-based solutions (NBS) along the North Claiborne Avenue Corridor.  This area includes under-resourced communities connected along the corridor and is an economic, social, historical, and cultural thoroughfare. It is also a major hurricane evacuation route for Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. Rainstorm events often lead to flooding for communities along this corridor and negatively impact the quality of life for its community members. This collective of four community organizations has established a connection with a network of engaged residents educated about NBS who are experts in identifying the effects of climate hazards in their neighborhoods. By collaborating with community organizations in the Water Wise Collective, these residents have envisioned 120 NBS priority projects that seek to alleviate flooding, reduce urban heat island effect, and beautify their communities. By securing technical experts, they will determine which priority projects will be the most impactful by using hydrologic and hydraulic models, scaling up as necessary, and prepare those projects to be shovel-ready by generating designs and construction documents. Additionally, because many of these identified priority projects are located on government-owned land, they will continue to build bridges and partnerships with government stakeholders and agencies to secure funding for the implementation of the NBS priority projects. 

A Living Shoreline Design Approach Supporting the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe’s Climate Adaptation Efforts
Project Director: Dr. Matthew Bethel, Louisiana Sea Grant 
Project Location: Lower Terrebonne & Lafourche Parishes, Louisiana
Award Amount: $780,308
Project Team 

• Niki Pace, Louisiana Sea Grant 
• Melissa Daigle, Louisiana Sea Grant 
• Francisca Santana, University of Washington 
• Georgie Ferguson, Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe 
• Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Arizona State University 
• Earl Melancon, Louisiana Sea Grant 
• Wei Wu, University of Southern Mississippi 
• Chris Boyd, Troy University 
• Xutong Niu, Troy University 
• Darrah Bach, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana 
• Haley Gambill, Louisiana Sea Grant 

Project Summary: 

The traditional lands of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe (“PACIT” or “Tribe”), in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes in southeastern Louisiana, include diverse ecological and cultural resources, such as birds, plants, animals, fish, cemeteries, and sacred sites. Historically, Tribe members were fishers, hunters, and farmers. While many Tribal members continue to fish as a livelihood, climate-related hazards threaten their continued existence in the region and ability to thrive.  Adaptation measures taken by Tribal members have not been sufficient to withstand increased tropical storm impacts because of the loss of much of their traditional lands to open water, exposing the community to greater storm surge and more frequent flooding. Following Hurricane Ida’s devastating impacts in August 2021, the Tribe is developing a comprehensive community-based strategy to prepare for future storms called the Pointe-au-Chien “Resilient Rebuilding Plan.” Living shorelines are an NBS that can support the PACIT in achieving critical aspects of its vision to sustainably rebuild and adapt to increasingly severe climate-related hazards. A deliberate and coordinated approach is necessary to siting such projects so the sum creates enhanced benefit beyond what individual projects may provide. This project presents an opportunity to design a network of coordinated living shoreline structures or “Living Shorelines Network.” This concept is a key strategy for protecting the community from future storm impacts and flooding that honors the Tribe’s cultural heritage and priorities. They expect this process will inform the design of similar measures in other coastal communities most at risk. 

Community-Based Design Using Nature-Based Solutions to Meet Climate Change Challenges Along Urban Hillsborough River, Tampa
Project Director: Dr. Ping Wang, University of South Florida 
Project Location: Tampa, Florida
Award Amount: $990,008 
Project Team 

• Richard Mbatu, University of South Florida 
• Kamal Alsharif, University of South Florida 
• Tomas Crisman, University of South Florida 
• Allan Feldman, University of South Florida 
• Taryn Sabia, University of South Florida 
• Kendall Jackson, University of South Florida 
• Margaret Winter, University of South Florida 
• Whit Remer, City of Tampa 
• Rebecca Young, City of Tampa 
• Heather Maggio, City of Tampa 
• Elie Araj, Applied Sciences Consulting Inc. 
• Brian Cook, Applied Sciences Consulting Inc. 
• Oona Johnsen, Oona Johnsen Landscape Architecture 

 Project Summary:
Three sites along the urbanized Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida are selected for the design of NBS to meet pressing climate-change challenges. All three sites are popular Tampa city parks serving large at-risk and under-resourced communities. A multi-disciplinary team composed of University of South Florida researchers, City of Tampa staff, and consultants is assembled to design the NBS. The three sites are exposed to different climate-related hazards. Site 1 is low-lying and highly vulnerable to submergence by sea-level rise and storm surge, along with shoreline erosion by wind- and boat-generated waves. Site 2 is suffering from aggressive riverbank erosion due to strong flow, along with large un-treated stormwater discharge. Site 3 is directly downdrift of the river dam with deteriorating stormwater structure, in addition to riverbank erosion and flooding related to water release at the dam. Three corresponding general NBS approaches including artificial reef plus wetlands for Site 1, constructed wetlands plus pond/stream and shoreline stabilization for Site 2, and stream daylighting and wetlands for Site 3 will be introduced to the community. They will conduct lived experience engagement with the communities through opinion survey, focused group discussion, and workshops with discussion. The goal of this project is to design the NBS based on the above three concepts through constructive and iterative community engagement. The final NBS design will embody community acceptance and ownership. In addition, the consultants will ensure that the NBS design has adequate technical drawings and accurate cost estimate to seek implementation funding. 

Cedar Key ShOREs (Shoreline Options for Resilience and Equity)
Project Director: Dr. Savanna Barry, University of Florida 
Project Location: Cedar Key, Florida
Award Amount: $988,944
Project Team 

• Eban Bean, University of Florida 
• Carla Brisotto, University of Florida 
• Jessica Bruso, Ferguson Waterworks LLC 
• Mark Clark, University of Florida 
• Jiayang Li, University of Florida 
• Thomas Ruppert, University of Florida 
• Jason von Meding, University of Florida 
• Xiao Yu, University of Florida 

Project Summary:
This project will leverage previous community engagement to design NBS around key public infrastructure. Recent collaborations on living shorelines between Cedar Key stakeholders and University of Florida generated interest in further application of NBS for vulnerable public infrastructure threatened by sea level rise, frequent storms, and chronic erosion. Cedar Key is particularly vulnerable to storm surges and rising seas, and recent hurricanes have caused extensive damage to shorelines and the community. Of particular concern is the highly exposed G and 1st Street neighborhood and low-lying adjacent neighborhoods. This focus area encompasses critical routes for emergency services, a popular shore fishing spot, and a public school in addition to private homes, local businesses, and failing stormwater infrastructure. Multiple groups interact with the focus area and must be continually engaged to ensure an equitable solution is achieved. This project will build on Phase I outcomes to assist Cedar Key with the highly technical project design, advancing concepts toward permitting while incorporating input from the community. In Phase I, they deployed stakeholder-driven workshops and survey processes, conducted site visits to inform design possibilities, and integrated technical expertise with local preferences, equity considerations, and infrastructure needs. 

The National Academies’ Gulf Research Program is an independent, science-based program founded in 2013 as part of legal settlements with the companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. It seeks to enhance offshore energy system safety and protect human health and the environment by catalyzing advances in science, practice, and capacity to generate long-term benefits for the Gulf of Mexico region and the nation. The program has $500 million for use over 30 years to fund grants, fellowships, and other activities in the areas of research and development, education and training, and monitoring and synthesis.  

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. 

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