Get to know N-EWN
A community of researchers, practitioners, and educators working together to advance the practice of natural infrastructure.
We work across four main branches
In order to help facilitate the widespread adoption of natural infrastructure practices across the United States, we’ve identified four main areas that need additional work:
Developing methods and standards
New tools, techniques and guidance are needed to effectively plan, design, construct and operate natural infrastructure at different scales
Assessing benefits and costs
Natural infrastructure provides communities with a broad array of economic, environmental and social benefits. Improved approaches are needed to evaluate, quantify and forecast these benefits to support planning and decision making
Monitoring performance and outcomes
Technically sound, efficient and applicable methods are needed to track natural infrastructure performance over time, develop the evidence base for future designs, ensure compliance with policy and inform project operations and adaptive management
Integrating people and policy
Providing infrastructure that supports human wellbeing and equitably meets the needs of diverse communities requires integration of human values, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and policies with modern communication and collaboration practices
Combining a diversity of on-the-ground experience with interdisciplinary teams.
The N-EWN community is made up of over 30 partners from industry, academia and the non-profit sector.
What N-EWN’s been up to:
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Natrx Assess: Data-Driven Insights for Resilience That Lasts
In nature-based projects at any scale, precision matters. Natrx Assess is a remote sensing and AI-powered geospatial platform that helps project teams pinpoint risks and opportunities — unlocking smarter, faster pathways to resilience. Using high-resolution data, Assess identifies erosion threats, landscape vulnerabilities, and opportunities for intervention across entire regions without the need for extensive fieldwork.…
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ExoForms™: Coastal Resilience That Builds Over Time
ExoForms™ help shape a new generation of adaptive infrastructure, offering shoreline protection that integrates seamlessly with natural systems and evolves into lasting, living habitats. Designed for coastal, estuarine, and marine environments, ExoForms™ provide immediate energy dissipation and erosion control while encouraging sediment capture, marine life colonization, and long-term ecosystem benefits. Their modular design allows them…
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ExoFlex Oyster Bags: Advancing Coastal Resilience with Smarter Materials
ExoFlex Oyster Bags represent a step forward in how nature-based infrastructure is deployed and performs. Built from basalt fiber — a natural, marine-friendly material — ExoFlex provides a durable, sustainable alternative to plastic-based oyster bags traditionally used for shoreline protection and habitat restoration. Designed to thrive in harsh coastal environments, ExoFlex withstands tidal energy, salinity…
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