Defining Natural Infrastructure
Natural infrastructure (NI) uses natural processes and ecosystem services to support engineering objectives. This innovative approach to infrastructure planning has the potential to provide co-benefits to communities, ecosystems, and economies, and N-EWN partners are leading the charge on implementing NI to achieve these benefits.
Selected Publications:
Life cycle management of natural infrastructure: assessment of state of practice and current tools, Kurth et. al. 2024, Frontiers in Built Environment.
Jointly advancing infrastructure and biodiversity conservation, McKay et. al. 2023. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
Improving Natural Infrastructure Practice
Nature-based solutions (NbS) are a relatively new field of study and applications. N-EWN researchers are dedicated to figuring out the best way to implement NbS in engineering, environmental, and community settings.
Selected Publications:
Nature-based solutions as buffers against coastal compound flooding: Exploring potential framework for process-based modeling of hazard mitigation, Radfar et. al. 2024, Science of the Total Environment.
Evaluating thin-layer sediment placement as a tool for enhancing tidal marsh resilience: A coordinated experiment across eight US National Estuarine Research Reserves, Raposa et. al. 2023, Estuaries and Coasts.
Integrating People and Policy
We’re better together. N-EWN partners are working to make sure everyone has a seat at the table when we talk about nature-based solutions.
Infrastructure managers bear a responsibility for ensuring all members of a community are being fairly serves by infrastructure choices. To support sustainable solutions, managers need a clear and concise set of guidelines for incorporating social equity into project decision making.
Selected Publications:
Human well-being and natural infrastructure: assessing opportunities for equitable project planning and implementation, Kalaidijan et. al. 2024, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Operationalizing equity for integrated water resources management, Seigerman et. al. 2022, Journal of the American Water Resources Association.
Bringing People Together
Nature-based Solutions Policy & Practice Forums
These annual in-person forums have been co-hosted with partners across the country, aiming to identify the policy and practice needs of the growing field of nature-based solutions. More information about each year’s forum below:
Knowledge Series
This monthly, public-facing webinar series features topics from across the field of engineering with nature knowledge. Continuing Education Credits (1-hr) are available to all attendees who join live. More information & registration link below:
More N-EWN Events
Special Topics
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New report: Embracing biodiversity in coastal infrastructure
A research team from the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (USACE ERDC) and the University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (UGA IRIS) recently published a new technical report titled “Embracing Biodiversity on Engineered Coastal Infrastructure through Structured Decision-Making and Engineering With Nature®. Abstract: Extreme weather variation, natural disasters,…
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Researchers from UGA and EWN present at Missouri River Natural Resources Committee Conference
Affiliate researchers from the University of Georgia Charles van Rees and Matt Chambers attended the Missouri River Natural Resources Committee 2024 Conference in Nebraska City, Nebraska. They were joined by EWN Practice Lead Dave Crane and University of South Dakota professor Mark Dixon. The group led a 4-part plenary around their NASA-funded project that will leverage satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and…
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N-EWN publication touts opportunities for improving infrastructure and supporting biodiversity
Jointly advancing infrastructure and biodiversity conservation A team from the Network for Engineering With Nature recently published a comment in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, describing the opportunity that comes with melding biodiversity conservation and innovation in infrastructure, as well as the crucial importance for our society in seizing that opportunity. The paper…
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Nature-Based Solutions for Biodiversity Handbook
A N-EWN team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the University of Georgia recently published the new Nature-Based Solutions for Biodiversity Handbook, and handbook that uses landscape architecture renderings to demonstrate how communities can use nature-based solutions to protect their communities while promoting biodiversity. Check out the handbook here!