Capewide Events Will Offer Coastal Resilience And Smiles
The Falmouth Enterprise
Tao Woolfe
May 23, 2024
In hopes of arming Cape residents with practical knowledge about coastal resilience—while showing them a good time—the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant will sponsor a series of events across the Cape in June.
“The Cape Cod Coastal Resilience project is aimed at raising awareness of—and increasing our community’s resilience to—the impacts of climate change, particularly from storms, erosion and flooding,” said Stephanie Murphy, spokeswoman for the WHOI Sea Grant.
The events, which will range from trivia pub nights and trail walks to film screenings and a chance to talk with climate scientists, will be held from June 8 to June 15. There will even be a resilience-related storytelling event at the Cape Symphony next month.
“WHOI Sea Grant partners are resources for coastal hazard and storm preparedness information,“ said Shelly McComb, the coastal resilience specialist with Sea Grant and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension.
The Sea Grant program is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s College Program to encourage environmental stewardship, research and education.
“Through our resilience events, we want people to learn what they can do to increase their resilience as individuals, neighborhoods, and communities—and to have some fun while they’re at it,” Ms. McComb said. “It’s all about learning how to be prepared and coming away feeling a part of a community that can take action and embrace change together.”
Cape Cod is particularly vulnerable, with its 52,000 acres of floodplain that could be submerged by a 10- to 12-inch sea level rise over the next 30 years, Ms. Murphy said.
“Communities across our region recognize the need to improve their ability to withstand natural disasters and environmental change,” Ms. Murphy added. “But knowing what to do and how to prepare can be a difficult challenge.”
The kickoff event, World Ocean Day, will be held on June 8 at the Naukabout Beer Garden at Mashpee Commons. It will feature games, children’s activities, face painting, food trucks, a bike repair clinic, and climate resiliency tips and resources from Cape Cod organizations.
The Cape Cod schedule also includes:
Sunday, June 9, from 2 to 4 PM: Woods Hole Resiliency Day, featuring a guided climate walk highlighting resilience efforts in a coastal village at 2 PM (reservations are encouraged); a display of coastal resiliency projects in the Redfield Lobby, 45 Water Street, at 3 PM; and a film screening of “Inundation District” (which looks at why a city would build by the sea these days) and a discussion with scientists and experts at 4 PM.
Monday, June 10, from 4 to 6 PM: Join Sea Grant coastal specialists for a tour of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Trail’s Morris Island to look at dune habitats and a saltwater marsh where erosion is changing the landscape (reservations are recommended).
Tuesday, June 11, from 1 to 3 PM: join a webinar to learn about using a software program called MyCoast to upload residents’ photos of damage after storms that help officials make decisions about erosion measures. Visit the WHOI Sea Grant website at seagrant.whoi.edu for Zoom login instructions.
Wednesday, June 12, at 7 PM: resilience-themed pub night at the Sandwich Taverna, 290 Route 130. Attendees can meet the WHOI Sea Grant coastal resilience team members and test one’s knowledge of coastal resilience.
Thursday, June 15: Provincetown events to be announced.
Friday, June 14: two Zoom webinars. The first, at noon, is a climate anxiety workshop on how to live with care and purpose in an endangered world. The second webinar begins at 2 PM and will feature a panel discussion about water and climate change with experts from the Center for Coastal Studies and the Town of Orleans. Check the WHOI Sea Grant website for registration information.
Saturday, June 15, at 6:30 PM at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center: A pre-concert program at the Cape Cod Symphony’s “Our Ocean” performance. The program will feature three local stories of vulnerability, strength and resilience, followed by a full concert performance led by Conductor Carolyn Watson.
Capewide Events Will Offer Coastal Resilience And Smiles – The Falmouth Enterprise