Center for Coastal Solutions, University of Florida
The Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS) in the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering develops and delivers the best available science and technology for use by decision makers to improve water quality, restore ecosystems and build coastal resilience. We focus on driving impacts in four program areas: 1) optimizing water quality investment and management decisions; 2) forecasting coastal hazards; 3) nature-based solutions for coastal resilience; and 4) building Florida’s Digital Twin to rapidly simulate solutions for community resilience.
Our Engineering With Nature® (EWN) projects aim to enhance resilience for coastal dunes, wetlands and military installations. Through our EWN for Coastal Dune and Wetland Resilience Project, our team and collaborators inform strategies to stabilize degraded coastal wetlands and dunes in northeast Florida. This project also supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in reaching its goal to beneficially re-use 70 percent of its dredged sediment by 2030. Early promising results include new planting techniques that show a fivefold increase in dune revegetation rates.
We also collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers at the USACE Research and Development Center to develop upscaled nature-based solutions that reduce risks and increase the climate resilience of U.S. Department of Defense’s installations and operations. At Tyndall Air Force Base, we’re monitoring ecosystem conditions to guide the design and construction of living shorelines and restoration of seagrass beds. These nature-based solutions, part of the Engineering With Nature®️ for Military Installation Resilience Project, will serve as protection against storms and sea level rise at one of the most vulnerable bases in the country.
We’re excited to host the first N-EWN Symposium and to be part of this network. Together, we are advancing natural infrastructure practices for the economic, environmental and social well-being of our ecosystems and communities.
“We’ve got a great venue and an amazing program,” says CCS Director Christine Angelini. “We’re looking forward to a dynamic exchange of ideas, stimulating conversations and new collaborations that endure for many years to come.”
Meet our Nature-Based Solutions Team
Meet team members who are working on nature-based solutions at the Center for Coastal Solutions:
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