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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Sizing up marshes for flood prevention
Just how big do coastal marshes need to be to do their job as protectors of the coastline? N-EWN researchers from the University of Georgia, Viyaktha Hithaishi Hewageegana, Matt Bilskie, Brock Woodson, and Brian Bledsoe investigated the matter by running simulations that tested how changes in marsh geometry impacted the storm surge and amount of…
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First N-EWN All Partners Meeting
This week, all the N-EWN partners met in conjunction for the first time to define our broad strategic vision, outline expectations for working together, and set the wheels in motion for awesome collaborations. We’re so excited by all the great ideas and potential for partnership!
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Special Section on LTER and Climate Change
Story by Sean Turner Forest and freshwater ecosystems are not just important for their natural beauty. They also provide our communities with drinking water, power, transportation, and provide habitat for other species. And because of their importance as infrastructure, it is imperative that we know how climate change has affected these biomes and how we…
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