The Gulf Resilience Community of Practice (CoP) brings together a wide variety of coastal stakeholders such as elected officials, local government staff, extension professionals, community-based organizations, businesses and educators. This community provides a wide variety of continuing education, technical assistance and other resources so communities can become more resilient to coastal storms and withstand long-term environmental changes, such as sea level rise.
Each year the group comes together for a regional meeting, which is held in one of the five Gulf states. This year, the annual meeting will take place June 3-5 in Houma, Louisiana, at the LUMCON Blue Works Facility. Conference organizers have prepared an extensive slate of talks and interesting activities for conference attendees. Among these talks will be a community projects café to highlight various jurisdictions from across the Gulf and what they are doing to improve infrastructure and habitat resilience.
A tools café will give individuals the opportunity to learn about new tools available for communities to confront environmental challenges and concerns. Attendees will also hear about various strategies for securing federal funding and navigating the changing landscape of grant allocations.
In addition to the sessions and presentations, there will be a field trip to highlight resilience efforts in the Houma area along with a community service project at the École Pointe-au-Chien French Immersion School. Toward the end of the second day, dinner will be provided to conference attendees, which will be capped by a ceremony commemorating Spirit of Community award winners. One winner will be recognized from the three award categories: individual, community and community champion. There will also be a poster session with submissions from students and research professionals highlighting new and emerging research that may be of practical benefit to community stakeholders.
Attendees will also be informed about various working groups organized by the Gulf Resilience CoP. These working groups are an excellent resource and provide attendees with an opportunity to stay engaged with the Gulf Resilience CoP outside of the context of the annual meeting. Some of the working groups of note include the Tools Working Group and the Green Infrastructure Working Group.
Individuals who work for local governments can register for free, and members of the planning team are happy to provide logistical support to jurisdictions and their staff who may be interested in attending. I hope you will be able to join us for this year’s CoP meeting as we commemorate 15 years of regional engagement and collaboration on environmental issues affecting the Gulf of America region!
More information is available online about the Gulf Resilience Community of Practice.
Meet the author
Stephen Deal
Extension Specialist (Land Use Planning)
Stephen works with floodplain managers, building officials, city officials, scientists and Sea Grant partners to provide information and training related to flood and storm resilience. He holds a... Read more
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