UMass Boston

UHI is working with the town of Swansea to engage members of the public in waterways planning activities. The plan will cover a wide range of topics including public access, water quality, natural resources, commercial and recreational uses, and climate change. 

For more information on the Swansea planning process or to provide a comment, contact Kim Starbuck at Kimberly.Starbuck@umb.edu. 

UHI, in partnership with Woods Hole Group, is working with the town of Nantucket to engage members of the public in harbor planning activities. The plan will cover a wide range of topics including public access, water quality, natural resource management, commercial and recreational fishing and boating, climate change, dredging, and water quality. A draft plan is expected in the Spring 2024. 

For more information on the Nantucket planning process or to provide a comment, see the harbor plan website or contact Kim Starbuck at Kimberly.Starbuck@umb.edu. 

The Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea is embarking on the development of a Manchester-by-the-Sea Harbor Management Plan with support from UHI, and the Town's Harbor Management Task Force. 

UHI recently kicked off the harbor planning process with the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, where the UHI team has started researching issues and planning for public engagement. On Tuesday, March 19th, 2024, approximately 40 people including the general public and the Harbor Management Task Force, came together to provide input for the harbor management plan. The notes from the public meeting can be found here: Public Notes. If you were unable to attend, please feel free to send along comments via email (listed below).

For more information about the Manchester-by-the-Sea plan, contact Shannon Hogan at Shannon.Hogan@umb.edu. 

UHI, in partnership with Woods Hole Group, is working with the town of Mashpee to engage members of the public in harbor planning activities. The plan will cover a wide range of topics including public access, water quality, natural resource management, commercial and recreational fishing and boating, climate change, dredging, and water quality. A draft plan is expected in the Spring 2024. 

For Mashpee harbor plan information and to sign up for updates on the planning process, visit the plan website or contact Allison Novelly at Allison.Novelly@umb.edu.

UHI is part of a large team that is implementing a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded 4-year project entitled Cool Science. Cool Science is a free public art competition held each fall for K-12 artists to improve public understanding of the science behind extreme weather. Over the last seven years, Cool Science piloted a small-scale program in Massachusetts. The program was honored by the White House as an exemplary project to improve climate literacy across a community.

Because of its proven popularity and effective engagement with all ages, Cool Science added partners in the nation’s heartland in Kansas and Missouri. Now, buses with children’s winning artwork will ride in four regions (Merrimack Valley, Worcester, Kansas City, and Topeka). During each year of this 3-year program, roughly hundreds of youth, hundreds of adult mentors, and tens-of-thousands of bus riders will have the chance to learn about the science of extreme weather. More details can be found on www.coolscience.net.

Other Cool Science team members include: the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston’s School for the Environment; UMass Lowell’s College of Education and Art and Design Department; the Massachusetts College of Art and Design; the Transportation Center at the University of Kansas; the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis, University of Kansas; Kansas State University; and Goodman Research Group, Inc.

The Gulf of Maine Association (GOMA) is partnering with UHI, Surfrider Foundation, Center for Coastal Studies, Blue Ocean Society, NH Coastal Program, and Huntsman Marine Science Centre to create an international collaborative approach to addressing the environmental problem of plastic and other marine debris in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Partners will work together to implement gulf-wide and targeted actions to reduce and prevent the introduction of marine debris into the Gulf of Maine in support of the 2019 Gulf of Maine Marine Debris Action Plan. Funding is provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More details can be found here.

UHI hosts a webinar series (3 - 4 per year) to share new, groundbreaking research being conducted by UMass Boston professors/staff and other professionals from around the world. The webinar topics include: climate change, marine debris, fisheries, municipal planning, waterfront issues, community outreach, and more. The 60-minute webinars are free and geared towards professionals in the ocean science field, yet open to all. To be informed of upcoming webinars, please sign up for our newsletter.

UHI serves as the administrative coordinator for the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC), a collaboration of citizens, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies dedicated to providing essential and advanced training to individuals involved in municipal planning and land use. To learn more about CPTC and available trainings, including monthly webinars, visit the CPTC website.

A founding member of the NWWN, UHI is leading several initiatives to advance the resilience of working waterfronts in partnership with Network members. Specifically, UHI staff are coordinating the NWWN Research Internship Program (which will begin in February 2024) and helping to organize the NWWN conference to be hosted in San Diego in early 2025. Join the NWWN listserv to receive information about the conference and future NWWN activities. With funding from the Walton Foundation, specific emphasis for much of this project is on promoting the resilience of sustainable commercial fishing communities.

The Stone Living Lab is a partnership working to advance coastal resiliency to climate change through research, education, outreach, and policy. The majority of the Lab’s work is conducted in Boston Harbor and surrounding communities and focuses on exploring both the natural and socio-economic impacts of nature-based approaches to addressing the impacts of climate change. Staff from UHI are working with the Lab to coordinate research and communications activities and provide overall management for the Lab. The Institute’s work is funded by the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation.