Tag: conservation
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Nature at Work: Ecosystem Engineers (Part 2): Aquatic Architects
Coral Reefs: This Ecosystem – It’s Alive! Did you know corals are actually tiny animals, and these giant reef structures are made up of millions of exoskeletons, with mouths and stomachs? Now you do. Corals use calcium and carbonate ions from seawater to build these exoskeletons, building reefs that can go on for miles (such…
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Nature at Work: Ecosystem Engineers (Part 1): Terrestrial Technicians
We appreciate wildlife for plenty of reasons, but it’s rare that we take a moment to admire their natural technical abilities. These animals may never have taken a statistics class or used CAD software, but they use their own special skillsets to shape their habitats–earning them a place in the special category of species called…
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This week: New N-EWN Knowledge Series
Join us this Thursday, August 15 at 12:30pm ET for the next N-EWN Knowledge Series: Living Breakwaters and Other Nature-Based Adaptation Projects. This talk will be given by Pippa Brashear, RLA, Resilience Principal at SCAPE Landscape Architecture DPC. Abstract: Widely considered a model for climate-adaptive nature-based infrastructure, Living Breakwaters is a $107 million project that…
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Dunes: The resilient ecosystems at work under the sand
Dunes have garnered quite a bit of attention this year. Sure, some of that is due to the science fiction series of the same name– but we think the real-life dunes are much cooler. And don’t worry, there are no giant sandworms here. Dunes are mounds or ridges that form when sand is moved by…
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Nature at Work: Wetlands
What in the world is a wetland? The word “wetland” can refer to a variety of ecosystems, including swamps, marshes, bogs, floodplains and ponds. Generally speaking, wetlands are *lands* that are *wet* (that is, covered by water) at least some of the time. It’s a big group, and this impressive crew of landscapes are a…
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Partners featured in Washington Post: Natural infrastructure for rising seas
At Eagles Island in Wilmington, North Carolina, floats the historic Battleship North Carolina: a World War II museum right on the water. But as climate change causes sea levels to rise, this popular visitors’ spot could be at risk due to increasingly high tidal flooding. While multiple design and engineering firms suggested building walls around…