Coastal Flooding: Understanding Local Impacts through Science & Art

With over 5,000 miles of tidally influenced coastline, Maine’s coastal communities face unique challenges in addressing the impacts of climate change, especially flooding from sea level rise and storms. Building understanding of local flood impacts today is essential to help us plan and take action against future flooding. Documenting water levels, sharing observations, telling stories, and creating art are some of the ways that we can build that collective knowledge.

Join the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA) to explore and engage in both science and art to build your understanding of sea level rise and storm impacts in Maine. 

GMRI will share the science of sea level rise, local projections for Maine, and the impacts of coastal flooding from high tides and storms. Learn how you can take action through community science and help communities answer the question, what water level and weather conditions lead to local flooding? And explore the UMVA exhibit, art inspired by not just coastal flooding, but the ways in which communities are responding. 

Presenters
Gayle Bowness leads GMRI's Community Climate Action work. We engage with coastal communities, combining local knowledge and expertise with the best available scientific data to envision — and realize — a climate-resilient and thriving future. Gayle has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia and a Master of Science degree from Lesley University, Massachusetts in Ecological Teaching and Learning. 

Evan Paris is completing a year of service at GMRI through the Greater Portland Council of Government's Resilience Fellowship Program. He has a degree in Biochemistry from Vassar College and now aims to integrate art, science, and education to empower communities in mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis.