STORM SURGE SPEAKER SERIES
Making Space for Water: Reimagining Our Relationship to the Coast
Thursday, March 5, 2026 | 7:00 PM
Newburyport Senior Center
As sea levels rise and storms intensify, coastal communities across Massachusetts are facing difficult questions about the future. In this talk, Emma Gildesgame, Climate Adaptation Director at The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts, will explore how communities can proactively plan for a changing coastline, moving beyond the question of whether to adapt, to how.
Emma will share insights from her work leading community conversations across the Massachusetts coast about coastal relocation as one tool in the broader climate adaptation toolkit. She’ll discuss what relocation can look like in practice, address common misconceptions, and explain how voluntary, community-centered approaches can help keep people safer while making space for coastal habitats to adapt alongside us. Emma will also share information about emerging state programs, including a Massachusetts statewide buyout program currently in development.
This topic is especially relevant for Greater Newburyport, where significant flood-zone populations span from Plum Island to the downtown Merrimack River area. Whether you live in a flood zone, are concerned about a changing coastline, or simply want to understand the options communities are exploring, this talk offers a chance to learn and engage.