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SPECIAL EDITION!

2024 New Jersey Coastal and Climate Resilience Conference Spotlight

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative (NJCRC) co-hosted their first New Jersey Coastal and Climate Resilience Conference from March 12-14 at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. With a theme of "Adapting to Change - Creating Resilient Communities," the event gathered 300 attendees and nearly 150 speakers for three days of wide-ranging discussions on the challenges facing the state's diverse communities and coastal environments.  

New Jersey's Chief Resilience Officer Nick Angarone and NJDEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette opened the conference. Nick discussed the importance of the NJCRC and its efforts covering climate and coastal resilience, as well as the importance of gathering all the attendees and speakers under one roof to share efforts and plans for our state moving forward. Commissioner LaTourette provided a brief overview of the topics during the conference and brought attention to New Jersey's climate resilience needs.   

Credit: Karl Vilacoba

The conference held 22 breakout sessions covering ten topic areas. Outside of the sessions, there were keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and a bus tour of several Monmouth County resilience projects. You can read summaries of the plenary and concurrent sessions below or check out the conference agenda and slide presentations from many of the speakers on the conference web page. 

The Plenary Sessions

Doug Parsons, Director of America Adapts Media and Host of the America Adapts Podcast

Doug Parsons, kicked off the conference as the first plenary speaker. Doug shared his story of how he entered the resilience and adaptation field and encouraging attendees to share their own stories, reminding all of us of the unique perspectives and skills we each bring to this emerging field. He attended all three days to listen to sessions while also recording a podcast at the conference to share as an episode on America Adapts-coming soon! 

What’s the Interagency Council Working on These Days?

The session was divided into two parts, providing the audience with a comprehensive understanding of the New Jersey Interagency Council (IAC)'s scope of work. The first part, moderated by Nick Angarone, featured panelists from different agencies sharing their perspective on the Council and their role on it. Panelists included Teresa Doss from the NJ Sports & Exposition Authority, Joe Livingston from the NJ Turnpike Authority, and Pamela DeLosSantos from the NJ Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency. The second part featured an interactive listening session, where audience members were encouraged to approach the panelists with ideas, comments, or concerns related to the Council’s work.

A.R. Siders, Climate Adaptation Researcher and Assistant Professor at University of Delaware's Biden School of Public Policy and Administration 

A.R. Siders delivered an inspiring keynote address emphasizing the urgent need for ambitious actions to address climate challenges. She urged attendees to reframe problems with diverse perspectives, foster creative thinking, and emphasize consistent, everyday actions in tackling climate change, highlighting the complexity of the crisis and the necessity for sustained effort and innovative solutions.

Credit: NJ DEP & Karl Vilacoba

The Concurrent Session Themes

Municipal Support for Resilience Planning 

Municipal, county, state, community-based organizations, NGOs, and private sector representatives discussed a myriad of coastal and climate resilience challenges and successes. These sessions provided opportunities for attendees to share their ideas and experiences and learn from colleagues planning for climate resilience in real time.

Coastal Ecosystem Restoration

Innovative restoration efforts were showcased from across the state, such as the utilization of low-cost, low-disturbance methods to increase marsh resilience to facilitate the role of burrowing crabs in marsh restoration and using nature-based strategies to increase wetland inventory and create flood-resilient landscapes in New Jersey.

Communicating Climate Change

Presenters covered a wide variety of topics, such as methods for getting the local community actively involved in your initiatives and ways to improve communication on projects as well as in your team. Attendees were able to take home information on upcoming projects and ways to get involved while also finding new techniques they can apply to their own work.

Climate Resilience Transportation

Attendees gained an in-depth understanding of the ways New Jersey has worked to build a more resilient mass transit network. The speakers talked about what is being done to raise tracks, build flood walls, and implement storm surge early warning systems to help mitigate damages and ensure smooth transit operations regardless of weather.

Offshore Wind

Scientists, including several from DEP, discussed the DEP Offshore Wind Research and Monitoring Initiative (RMI) and highlighted some research methods used in biomonitoring offshore wind development.

Climate Resilience

Attendees gained insights into comprehensive approaches to climate resilience, learning about collaborative strategies between local governments and federal agencies, innovative funding mechanisms, and the integration of sustainability into sectors such as education and tourism. They also explored challenges and solutions relevant to New Jersey's climate resilience efforts.

Beneficial Use

Presenters shared experience-based best practices, case studies, and research findings to promote beneficial use as a restoration approach comprised of various tactics. Various restoration projects along wetlands, marshlands, and waterways were showcased, demonstrating the benefits and transferability of beneficial use.

Nature Based Shoreline Stabilization

Speakers covered living shoreline projects in New Jersey and outside the state and the design techniques used. Details included materials used in the projects and steps taken from design to construction.

Coastal Ecosystems and Communities

Attendees learned about the coordinated and regional approach to bay island restoration that addresses multiple resilience needs and protection of the greater New York and New Jersey metro area from climate change related hazards.

Credit: Karl Vilacoba

Bus Tour: Mitigation Projects in Monmouth County

Attendees had the opportunity to join a bus tour around Monmouth County to hear about recent and upcoming mitigation projects. Projects included flood barriers, resilient building design, and natural shoreline restoration. Township spokespersons led the tour, discussing project history and highlighting the partnerships that made these projects successful.

We look forward to co-hosting another conference in 2026!

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