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Stephen Young
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On March 19, the geography department along with Salem State University’s Sustainability office, the City of Salem, and the state Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) hosted the Coastal Resiliency Workshop for Municipal Officials on Central Campus. Approximately 40 people attended the workshop to learn about environmental challenges for coastal communities, such as coastal flooding from sea level rise, as well as opportunities for improving resiliency to these challenges. Attendees included municipal officials from ten communities, along with consultants and state officials. The workshop featured presentations by CZM officials discussing grant opportunities, the geography department on coastal climate impacts, and a few communities highlighting their success stories.
The workshop presented an opportunity to showcase the geography department’s mapping capabilities and the availability of our knowledgeable students for internships. Six sea-level rise maps produced by geography students were displayed and given away to municipalities at the end of the meeting. The geography department has already had several related requests from attendees.
The resiliency workshop was a great opportunity to bring municipal officials to campus and highlight the university's capabilities. This workshop, along with drone workshops for municipalities, holds great promise for future events to strengthen ties with communities and officials, as well as to highlight the value of the university to the North Shore.