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:

  • New Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

    New Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

    Ph.D. Student Assistantship in Atmospheric Science/Coastal Engineering Position Description: The University of Georgia (UGA) Department of Geography (https://geography.uga.edu/) and the School of Environmental, Civil, Agriculture, and Mechanical Engineering (https://engineering.uga.edu/schools/ecam) is seeking a highly-motivated Ph.D. student to begin Fall 2023. The graduate student will work under Dr. Matthew Bilskie and Dr. Marshall Shepherd with an affiliation…

  • New Article: Engineering with Nature to Face Down Hurricane Hazards

    New Article: Engineering with Nature to Face Down Hurricane Hazards

    As coastal communities grow and severe weather events intensify, there is a growing need for information about the best ways to keep towns and cities safe. However, a lack of monitoring information about the protection provided by natural infrastructure, like berms and dunes, has limited managers’ ability to use them as tools. A new paper,…

  • New article: Benefit-Cost Analysis of Green Infrastructure Investments: Application to Small Urban Projects in Hinesville, GA

    New article: Benefit-Cost Analysis of Green Infrastructure Investments: Application to Small Urban Projects in Hinesville, GA

    Is there an economic benefit to implementing small-scale natural infrastructure projects in urban areas? N-EWN researchers Scott Pippin, Craig Landry and Mohammadreza Zarei addressed that question in their recent publication, “Benefit-Cost Analysis of Green Infrastructure Investments: Application to Small Urban Projects in Hinesville, GA.” Hinesville made the perfect case study, as it’s located in the…

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