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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SWCA Environmental Consultants on Clean Beaches
When it comes to clean beaches, it’s about more than just picking up trash (though that’s important too!). SWCA Environmental Consultants specializes in ecological restoration, erosion control, and habitat protection that help maintain clean, resilient beaches and coastal ecosystems. For example, SWCA is supporting the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s (CPRA) Chandeleur Island Restoration…
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SWCA: Restoring the Plainwell Channel
Once a driving force of industrial growth in the early 1900s, the Plainwell Dam on Michigan’s Kalamazoo River had, over time, become an obstacle to ecological health. Its aging structure trapped sediment, blocked fish passage, and disrupted the river’s natural flow. Today, through the Plainwell Dam Removal and Channel Restoration project, SWCA Environmental Consultants is…
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Partner Takeover: SWCA – Building Resilience Through Science-Led Ecosystem Restoration
Ecosystems are dynamic systems of balance, constantly responding to the pressures of climate, hydrology, and human influence. Restoring that balance requires more than planting trees or reshaping landforms—it demands an understanding of how ecological, cultural, and engineering factors work together to create long-term resilience. That’s where our partners at SWCA Environmental Consultants come in. For…
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