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Casco Bay Coastal Academy
Casco Bay Coastal Academy is a quarterly workshop series aimed at building the knowledge base of municipal board members about critical coastal issues, and providing skills training to support their project planning and implementation.
Conservation commissioners and other local board members can and do play an important role in natural resource protection and education. As an arm of local government, local boards can also be a conduit for information, technical assistance, and grant funding from outside organizations, as well as a conduit to those organizations about the needs of the local community. A few resources in Maine provide information and training to elected officials and local boards, including The Maine Municipal Association and Maine Association of Conservation Commissions. Municipal staff and regional planning agencies provide needed technical assistance. Yet these programs cannot reach all municipal officials, especially volunteer board members such as conservation commission and planning board members.
CBEP and partners are offering quarterly workshops designed for members of municipal boards and staff, focused on important coastal issues and offering science-based natural resource information. There are presentations, followed by plenty of time for peer discussion. A big focus is peer-to-peer exchange; for instance, highlighting local community success stories and profiling best management practices and programs.
CASCO BAY COASTAL ACADEMY EVENTS
Coastal Habitat Conservation for Climate Resilience (for coastal communities)
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 · 12 – 1pm EST
Corinne Michaud-LeBlanc, Climate Coordinator for Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Beginning with Habitat program will provide an overview of conservation planning tools and strategies for a changing climate, and suggestions for how to use them. This presentation will highlight salt marsh ecosystems and salt marsh sparrows. Pete Slovinsky, Marine Geologist with Maine Geological Survey, will discuss how climate change is impacting vulnerable dune habitat in the state, and recommend conservation actions for communities with this habitat.
There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.
Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/
Inland Habitat Conservation for Climate Resilience (for inland communities)
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 · 12 – 1pm EST
Corinne Michaud-LeBlanc and Joe Roy of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Beginning with Habitat program will provide an overview of conservation planning tools and strategies for a changing climate, and suggestions for how to use them. This presentation will highlight brook trout, inland flooding, aquatic connectivity, and landscape connectivity.
There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.
Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/
CASCO BAY COASTAL ACADEMY RESOURCES
- Agenda
- Presentation by Ryan Gordon, Hydrogeologist, Maine Geological Survey
- Video
March 23, 2023
- Registration Link
- Flyer
- Workshop recording
- Workshop presentation
- Workshop recording
- Presentation by Peter Slovinsky, Maine Geological Survey
- Presentation by Damon Yakovleff and Chris Baldwin, Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District
- Presentation by Martha Sheils, New England Environmental Finance Center
- Handout: Nature-Based Solutions Funding Matrix
- Handout: FEMA, Nature-Based Solutions Guide
September 29, 2020
- Presentation by Judy East, Chair, Community Resilience Planning, Public Health, and Emergency Management Working Group, Maine Climate Council
- Presentation by Kathleen Leyden, Co-Chair, Coastal & Marine Working Group, Maine Climate Council
- Summary, Maine Climate Council Recommendations
- Update for Maine Association of Planners on Maine Climate Council
January 27, 2020, Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm
- Presentation by Curtis Bohlen, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
- Presentation by Ivy Frignoca, Friends of Casco Bay
- Presentation by Fred Dillon, City of South Portland
- Handout: Nutrients in Your Community
- Presentation by Southern Maine Planning & Development Commission
Climate Resilience Funding Series
New England Environmental Finance Center, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, and Maine DEP, with assistance from Resilience Works, LLC, and support from USEPA Region 1, offered a series focused on crafting successful proposals toward sustainable financing of climate resilience and stormwater related projects. The series focused on knowledge sharing, idea exchange, and real-world advice and inspiration. We lead participants through successive sessions that built upon one another, from understanding what grant agencies look for in their applications, to beginning the process of establishing sustainable financing sources.
August 19, 2020
- Recording of Workshop
- Agenda
- Presentation, Coastal Communities Grant Program by Ruta Dzenis, Maine DACF
- Presentation, SHIP and BIG Programs, Matthew Burns, Maine DOT
- Presentation, Watershed Planning & Implementation Grant Programs, Wendy Garland, Maine DEP
- Presentation, Municipal Stream Crossing Upgrade Grants Program, John Maclaine, Maine DEP
- Case Study: Municipal Stream Crossing Program
October 16, 2020
- Recording of Workshop
- Community Resilience Funding Guidance Series: Setting Municipalities up for Success
- Community Resilience Funding Guidance Series: Setting Funders up for Impact
May 10, 2022, funding provided by Maine Coastal Program
- Recording of workshop
- Flyer and registration link
- Final Agenda