Teamed with Milone and MacBroom, GEI assisted with the planning and conceptual design for living shoreline and green infrastructure coastal resiliency projects on the southcentral Connecticut shoreline on behalf of a joint government council and The Nature Conservancy.

After Hurricane Sandy, the southern portion of Connecticut suffered storm surge that flooded many areas inland. With anticipated sea level rise due to climate change, a team including the South Central Regional Council of Governments, Metropolitan Council of Governments, and The Nature Conservancy received funding through a National Fish and Wildlife Federation grant to create a framework to evaluate the most compromised areas and design green infrastructure which will enhance the resilience of both ecosystems and communities. The program area included 10 municipalities extending from Fairfield, Connecticut to Madison, Connecticut. It includes both coastal and riverine settings.

The project’s Scope of Work included review of existing plans and opportunities for resiliency – focus projects within each jurisdiction, a public outreach campaign to solicit input and provide education about the Regional Framework, and prioritization of living shoreline and green infrastructure mitigation measures based on communities’ needs and funding research, with a focus on providing assistance in financing of future mitigation projects.

Within the Scope of Work, GEI’s specific tasks were to evaluate coastal and riverine areas at risk and determine which locations are most feasible to implement green infrastructure and living shoreline approaches and support the development of a GIS database of projects.

Based on feedback from the community and stakeholders, ten priority projects were selected and GEI staff, including a Licensed Landscape Architect, completed conceptual design plans of the living shoreline and green infrastructure projects that included cost estimates and planting selections.