Mobilizing Communities to Monitor Change and Prepare for Resilience
Coastal communities are increasingly experiencing strong storms and “sunny day” flooding from sea level rise — impacts of climate change. Public, private, academic, and community efforts are underway to address these impacts, and volunteer efforts to document change with photographic evidence can assist those efforts and foster resilience building.
MyCoast RI is an effort to bolster community stewardship of changing shorelines, monitor shoreline change, increase awareness, support local-level and state government impacts planning, and leverage cooperative resilience initiatives. Officially launched in Rhode Island in 2015, the Rhode Island database MyCoast RI now hosts over 2000 reports and a collection of extreme high-tide (King Tide), storm, and shoreline adaptation photographs from every coastal municipality. These can be accessed by anyone and used to communicate the extent of coastal flooding and storm damage to neighbors, planners, and decision makers. These photographs and reports can help identify priority areas for resilience efforts and demonstrate impacts at the neighborhood and even street level.
The MyCoast RI consortium includes partners Rhode Island Sea Grant, the Coastal Resources Center, the Coastal Resources Management Council, Save The Bay, Clean Ocean Access, and the many volunteers who head out during each king tide or after every coastal storm armed with cell phones and cameras to capture the impacts of these events, from flooded streets and parking lots to downed trees and overtopped piers.
Get Involved
We can help you, your neighborhood, your business, or your government office get involved. We provide training, resources, and guidance, and can assist your effort to undertake MyCoast-RI in the capacity of your choice. Contact Pam Rubinoff at 401.874.6135 or email her at rubinoff@uri.edu.
