The Community Outreach and Strategic Training (COAST) Resilience Institute is over halfway through our year-long program of providing resilience workshops to municipal and community leaders.
The COAST Resilience Institute’s main goal was to equip elected officials, municipal staff and other community leaders with the latest science-based research for enhancing decision-making and increasing resilience. These trainings have been led by our collaborative Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant resilience team: Resilience Engagement Lead Tracie Sempier, PLACS:SLR Education Coordinator Ali Rellinger, Extension Specialist in Land-Use Planning Stephen Deal and myself.
We’ve hosted trainings in multiple locations across coastal Mississippi and Alabama, as well as some virtual offerings that have pulled in participants from around the Gulf of Mexico (and beyond).
As we finish out our summer session, let’s take a look back at what we’ve done so far and a look ahead to where we’ll end up.
Winter
We kicked off the year strong with trainings in Waveland, Biloxi and Moss Point in Mississippi and in Mobile and Foley in Alabama. Ali led participants through the latest information on local sea-level rise and flooding risk and what to expect with future conditions.
During Weather Wise trainings, Tracie walked participants through hazard warning systems, preparedness information and best practices to navigate severe weather conditions. With Resilient Building Standards, Stephen collaborated with Smart Home America to get participants familiar with the use of the FORTIFIED Home building standards for increasing resilient structures. In addition to providing information, these trainings became opportunities for discussion and knowledge exchange among participants.
Spring
As the weather warmed up, we kept the momentum going with the introduction of a virtual flood risk training in addition to a new suite of topics. Building off of the information from the last session, Ali and I demonstrated several publicly available tools that can be used to find information on demographics and sea-level rise to help inform resilience work.
Stephen convened participants from both states to delve into the Community Rating System (CRS) and practice developing a Program for Public Information (PPI). This session is when we really started getting to know our repeat participants who show up to multiple training topics. They’ve provided great insight into training needs and interests for future COAST programming.
Summer
Between the high heat and rainy days, we hit our peak this session with a batch of new topics, virtual trainings and collaborations with partners. This July, Tracie collaborated with Carolyn Martin, grants administrator for the City of Ocean Springs, to discuss a business continuity planning template. These templates can be used to help businesses strategize their recovery after experiencing a natural disaster.
For Risk Rating 2.0 trainings, Stephen Songe of Songe Insurance Agency and Ali dove into the changes and nuances of flood insurance rates with the National Flood Insurance Program. On August 2, Stephen Deal presented a webinar with Graham Green for a Smart Home America Legislative Update.
Fall
Looking forward into the future as we wrap up our year of resilience, what surprises are in store for our fall session? First, we’ll be co-hosting NOAA's Office for Coastal Management’s Nature Based Solutions for Coastal Hazards workshop in Biloxi at the Coastal Research and Extension Center (CREC).
Then, we’ll be diving back into the world of CRS with a training at the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SARPC) in Mobile. By popular demand, we’ll also be offering a resilience field trip to help participants explore firsthand what actions communities along coastal Mississippi and Alabama are taking part in.
To stay updated on the COAST Resilience Institute, you can check out the program website or visit the registration form.