Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Hazards

This course, from the NOAA Office of Coastal Management, prepares planners and communities for planning and implementing green or natural infrastructure projects to reduce coastal natural hazards.

Workshop attendees seated at tables listen to a speaker.

Nature-based solutions, sometimes called “green infrastructure,” incorporate the natural environment and constructed systems that mimic natural processes in an integrated network that benefits nature and people. This approach to community planning helps diverse community members come together to balance environmental and economic goals.

This course begins with a self-guided, online module that covers foundational concepts prior to the in-person event. In that one-day event, participants develop a green infrastructure strategy through interaction with peers and local experts.

Participants learn how to plan natural infrastructure projects, including hazard reduction benefits, co-benefits, design, maintenance, and costs as well as how to identify and assess approaches for successful implementation, including planning, funding, and engaging partners and stakeholders.

Local speakers have included representatives from the Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the City of Seaford, the Delaware Center for Horticulture, and DNREC Wetland Assessment and Monitoring Program, and the City of Laurel. They provided expertise on Delaware-centric best practices as well as local resources for participants to use for implementation.