A climate adaptation training course for coastal communities will take place Wednesday-Friday, Feb. 27-March 1, at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, 1815 Popps Ferry Road, in Biloxi. The interactive, three-day training course will offer climate adaptation toolkits that will help identify and address planning priorities. The training is for land-use planners, coastal managers, public works staff, floodplain managers, hazard mitigation planners, emergency managers, local officials, municipal boards, community groups and environmental organizations.
Upon completion, attendees will be able to recognize the changes and variability in climate and climate’s influence on coastal communities; understand key elements to consider for a vulnerability assessment; evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of adaptation strategies; and identify existing plans (hazard mitigation plan, comprehensive plan) where adaptation strategies may be incorporated.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Services Center training staff and local partners will teach the course. Continuing Education Credits have been applied for through the American Planning Association and the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
The fee for the course is $30. To register, contact Michael Shelton of the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve at michael.shelton@dcnr.alabama.gov or 251-928-9792 or Gwen Shaughnessy of the NOAA Coastal Services Center at Gwen.shaughnessy@noaa.gov.
The training is offered through a partnership among the NOAA Coastal Services Center, Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Alabama Department of Coastal and Natural Resources State Lands Division and Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
See agenda.