Signup for our Newsletter
Receive our latest updates by signing up for our newsletter!
Like many coastal landowners Greenbelt is seeing first hand the impacts on our properties of sea level rise and coastal flooding as well as from changes in temperatures and weather patterns. Our Stewardship staff are addressing these immediate threats of climate change with proactive planning to ensure the future accessibility and use of our properties. We are also committed to reducing our carbon footprint at our headquarters and in our operations, and we're invested in partnering with and supporting other organizations in their work to research, adapt, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
If you were standing at the Allyn Cox Reservation 30 years ago during a king tide or raging Nor’easter, you would see the great marsh absorbing the tidal surge and protecting the upland. Today, there is a good chance you may be stranded, due to the driveway being underwater. As our climate is rapidly changing and sea levels are rising, the Cox Reservation faces many threats; the worst being flooding. Greenbelt has been engaged in a multi year effort to understand the severity of the threat, develop resilience plans, and evaluate design options for the property.
Chris Nadeau, a conservation research fellow at Northeastern University, is conducting research at Greenbelt’s Seine Field in Gloucester to evaluate techniques to improve long-term success of habitat restoration projects under climate change. Chris is focusing on the resilience of three-toothed cinquefoil, a common alpine and subalpine plant found at Seine Field. Seine Field is an important source location for the project because it is one of the warmest New England locations where the plant is known to occur.
Greenbelt's Stewardship Department is currently working to develop property management plans for our conservation areas. These plans will incorporate the most up to date data on climate threats and natural resources to better inform our management practices. As we learn more about the challenges ahead we can better prepare to successfully respond to the varied impacts that climate change will bring.
