Reflections on the Summer of 2023 and What’s Ahead for the EWN Program

As fall gets into full swing, we’re kicking off the second half of Season 6 of the EWN Podcast by talking with members of the EWN leadership team about what they’ve been working on and what’s ahead. In Episode 5, host Sarah Thorne is joined by cohost Jeff King, National Lead of the EWN; cohost Amanda Tritinger, Deputy Program Manager, EWN; and Courtney Chambers, Communications Lead, EWN.

The summer of 2023 was an unprecedented summer in many ways. As Sarah notes, “Mother Nature certainly demonstrated that climate change is upon us.” Jeff agrees, revisiting the topic Canada’s worst wildfire season ever, covered in Season 6, Episode 4, as well as the wildfires that devastated Lahaina, Hawaii. He also talks about the extreme rainfall and flooding in the southwest caused by Tropical Storm Hillary and the extraordinary flooding and devastation caused by Hurricane Idalia to the big bend area of Florida. As Jeff notes, “People in all parts of the US, Canada, and around the world are experiencing the effects of climate change firsthand.” This global wakeup call is challenging and motivating for the EWN Program. Jeff notes that there are 49 active research projects being led by personnel at the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center to address the climate change imperative by integrating nature-based solutions.

As Communications Lead, Courtney Chambers is responsible for sharing the incredible work that is going on with EWN. In her discussion with Sarah, Courtney describes some of what she has been doing to support the development and promotion of publications critical to broadening the reach of EWN, including the next volume of the EWN Atlas series, which captures the essence of EWN and nature-based solutions through images. As Courtney notes, “If you’ve seen Atlas I or II, you know that these books really showcase the potential for EWN and the diversity they can include.” Sarah adds, “You’re helping to share the stories of all of the brilliant scientists, engineers, landscape architects, and other collaborators—and the EWN projects that they’re working on—to inspire others. It’s important work.”

Sarah also speaks with Amanda Tritinger. Amanda shares highlights from her recent trip to Taiwan, coordinated with the USACE Pacific Ocean Division (POD). She was invited to talk about opportunities to engineer with nature as part of the information and technology exchange with the Taiwan Water Resource Agency. “The TWRA has a lot of really cool projects. It was exciting to share what EWN has going on but also to learn a lot of what Taiwan has been doing.” Amanda notes that through the POD they have been involved with a lot of opportunities in Southeast Asia with colleagues in Japan and Vietnam. “It’s really exciting that the world is a big place and what seems like a problem can be its own solution through the use of natural infrastructure and better understanding the environment around us.”

In closing, Jeff notes, “The climate change that we’ve all been experiencing is really challenging and motivating our EWN colleagues and collaborators to be innovative—to conduct research and field work on a range of projects that can help mitigate the impacts of climate change and help communities adapt and become more resilient. I really look forward to sharing some of the truly groundbreaking work underway on future episodes of the EWN Podcast. I don’t think we’re going to run out of interesting things to share with our listeners!!”

For more information and resource links, please visit the EWN Podcast page on the EWN website at https://www.engineeringwithnature.org/
• Jeff King at LinkedIn
• Amanda Tritinger at LinkedIn
• Courtney Chambers at LinkedIn