For the second year in a row, September is declared Climate Change Awareness Month for Nantucket by the Town of Nantucket. This designation is an acknowledgement that climate change and rising sea levels pose a significant and increasing threat to Nantucket, and serves as a call to action for our Town, local environmental groups and all community members to learn more about the threats of climate change and sea level rise and the planning efforts underway to increase community resilience. Through the Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee and upcoming Coastal Resilience Plan, the Town of Nantucket is actively working and preparing for the short and long term effects that climate change will have on our island.
| Visit Community Resilience Planning to learn more about the Town of Nantucket efforts to protect Nantucket from climate change and get involved! |
ACKlimate Nantucket provides a platform for the public-private partnership between the community, organizations, and Town of Nantucket on issues of resilience and sustainability. ACKlimate also maintains a calendar of educational and environmental events for its partner organizations that will feature climate change topics, including two Nantucket Land & Water Council kayak tours, a Climate Change Harbor Walk, “Climate, Coffee and Conversations” with ReMain Nantucket, and our September Clean Water webinar. Learn more and register for NLC events at nantucketlandwater.org. In addition to many other Climate Change focused walks and guided tours, Nantucket Preservation Trust hosts its annual symposium September 9 and 10 – Rescuing History: Nantucket in Response to Rising Seas. Learn more about the symposium event HERE.
Dr. Sarah Bois reports in an article in Yesterday’s Island:
“Envision Resilience is also hosting workshops and talks (even beyond September) further highlighting living with water in our community. September 27 at 10am, they are hosting a roundtable/coffee conversation titled Climate Change and Conservation: Resilience in Landscapes. NCF’s Dr. Jennifer Karberg, Dr. Sarah Bois (yours truly) of LLNF, and Emily Molden from Nantucket Land & Water Council will discuss climate change impacts on Nantucket and how our conservation lands and open space help mitigate these effects. “The conversation will explore how these three local experts see the impacts of climate change on the island of Nantucket, from our coastlines and harbor to freshwater ponds and wetlands, to our grasslands and forests.” It’s a great opportunity to learn what various organizations are doing as well as an opportunity to ask questions and participate in the conversation.”
In 2020, the Nantucket Land & Water Council hosted our Annual State of the Harbor: Impacts and Implications of a Changing Climate, with a special presentation by Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Rush, author of Rising, Dispatches from the New American Shore. Watch the full video of our 2020 State of the Harbor Forum HERE. Contact us for a copy of Elizabeth’s book Rising at nlwc@nantucketlandwater.org.
Join the Nantucket Land & Water Council and our partner organizations to learn more about Nantucket’s climate change and coastal resiliency efforts.
The Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am via Zoom.