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:

  • Community science and small sensors have the potential for big impact in San Juan, Puerto Rico

    Community science and small sensors have the potential for big impact in San Juan, Puerto Rico

    An upcoming NSF-funded research project led by the University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems will show that small, cheap sensors can have a big impact: gathering information to allow more accurate flood modeling. Small sensors, that is, and the hard work of many dedicated researchers and community members. The project is based in…

  • UGA IRIS to host 25th Anniversity Meeting of AEES

    UGA IRIS to host 25th Anniversity Meeting of AEES

    The first annual meeting of the American Ecological Engineering Society was held in Athens, Georgia at the University of Georgia in 2001, and this year, UGA is hosting again for the 25th Annual Meeting of AEES! The American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES) was first discussed in 1999 at a workshop on ecological engineering in Columbus,…

  • Introducing Partner Takeovers: UGA Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems

    Introducing Partner Takeovers: UGA Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems

    As of spring 2025, we have 37 of the coolest organizations in the country as N-EWN partners—and they have even cooler things to say. Starting this spring, we’re going to hand the mic directly to each of our amazing partners.  Introducing Partner Takeovers, where our social media and news stories will be run by a…

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