Members of the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative’s workgroups provided the following updates on their recent activities. If you have questions about a workgroup or […]
Members of the New Jersey Coastal Resilience Collaborative’s workgroups provided the following updates on their recent activities. If you have questions about a workgroup or are interested in volunteering to join, email NJCRC@NJSeaGrant.org.
The ERSW met on March 29 to develop its 2023 work plan. The plan will include two tasks as well as possibilities for reviews of various tools and documents. To that end, the ERSW established three subgroups: the Coastal Resilience Resource Library (CRRL) Subgroup, Restoration News Subgroup and Review Subgroup.
For more information or to become part of the ERSW, reach out to Co-Chairs Meredith Comi, Al Modjeski and Josh Moody at NJCRC@NJSeaGrant.org.
The BULN hosted a “Maintaining Restoration Sites” webinar on Jan. 25 focused on the phase of restoration after construction which includes adaptive management and other activities that are ongoing for the life of the project. The session included presentations by Wenley Ferguson, director of restoration for Save the Bay, which is dedicated to Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay; and Bart Wilson, regional geomorphologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
The presenters also participated on a panel discussion with Lisa Ferguson, director of research and conservation at the Wetlands Institute; Suzanne Paton, USFWS supervisory fish and wildlife biologist, Southern New England Estuary Project Coastal Program; and moderator Adrianna Zito-Livingston, coastal projects coordinator for the Nature Conservancy in New Jersey.
Click here to view the NJCRC’s online archive of Beneficial Use Learning Network Webinars. Anyone interested in joining this Workgroup should reach out directly to Adrianna Zito-Livingston (azito-livingston@tnc.org).
The NJCRC’s virtual Technical Assistance Coffee Chats have been going strong since initiated in 2021. Link to archived recordings of the Coffee Chats online . The workgroup wiIl continue to produce the Coffee Chats in light of positive feedback it has received that they’ve been a benefit to coastal communities.
The workgroup needs the assistance of the NJCRC partnership to keep producing highly effective opportunities. If you have ideas regarding topics that would be useful to coastal stakeholders, how to track the Coffee Chats’ success, or if you’re be interested in facilitating webinars, the workgroup welcomes your ideas and assistance. Volunteer to be a part of the Technical Assistance Coffee Chat Workgroup by sending an email to NJCRC@NJSeaGrant.org.
The NJCRC is pleased to announce the launch of a Communications Workgroup, which will be guided by Samantha Kreisler and Karl Vilacoba. The group welcomes new members to join.
Samantha Kreisler is the communications specialist from the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium. Samantha oversees all NJSGC communications and is responsible for writing and distributing content including their COASTodian newsletter, email blasts, managing social media accounts, and documenting NJSGC’s presence and research impacts throughout the State of New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic region. With a master’s degree from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, she has a strong background in marine policy, biology, and communicating science. She has spent her career working at nonprofits combining her love for storytelling and finding real-world solutions to environmental challenges.
Karl Vilacoba is the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute’s communications director and the project manager for the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal. Prior to joining the UCI, Karl worked for the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, where he oversaw a variety of public outreach efforts and served as managing editor of InTransition, a national transportation magazine published in partnership with the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Karl previously spent a decade as a news reporter and editor for newspapers in the Jersey Shore area and at USA Today’s Manhattan Bureau. A lifelong Shore resident, Karl also served for several years as a member of the Lake Como Environmental Commission and Unified Planning & Zoning Board, helping guide the borough’s recovery after Superstorm Sandy.