Photo © K Johnson
From January to March 2021, C-CoAST hosted five listening sessions (facilitated discussions aimed at learning about participants’ experiences) with coastal residents and other stakeholders. We sought to gather their insights about the connections between short-term decision making and the long-term consequences of those decisions for coastal communities. The listening sessions helped us begin to see those connections, and allowed us to share what we’ve learned in a Gallery Walk, below.
But the story is far from complete—participation in the listening sessions was not representative of all coastal residents, so the Gallery Walk is not yet inclusive of all perspectives about the future of the coast. We encourage you to share your perspective with us today. As we include more voices in the Gallery Walk, the story becomes richer and reveals more pathways for improving coastal futures. Contribute your insights here.
Any contributors of information to this website will remain anonymous. Your contributions will help refine and expand our understanding of connections between coastal decisions and their consequences. Information collected through this Gallery Walk will be used at a C-CoAST Research Agenda Workshop, to be held in November 2022, where researchers and stakeholders will co-produce a research plan designed to support community needs. To participate in the workshop or receive more information, please join the C-CoAST listserv on this webpage.
There are three ways to interact with what we have learned: a highlighted story, a guided tour, and a virtual gallery walk. As you engage with these, we encourage you to reflect and share your insights.
The highlighted story below presents an example of one narrative. With quotes pulled from multiple participants, this story connects numerous perspectives as if they are part of one participant’s experience with a coastal decision and its consequences.
The guided tour will take you to the virtual gallery walk to explore one pathway of decisions and their related consequences, including quotes from the listening sessions and descriptive text.
The decisions and consequences for coastal communities are complex, non-linear, and interconnected. The self-guided tour is an interactive representation of this complexity that allows you to explore how these decisions and consequences connect to each other.
Help us understand how you have experienced the effects of short-term decisions about development, storm recovery, ecosystem preservation, and more on your local community. What have we missed? What have you observed? No matter what level of experience you have, we want to hear from you.
Become a participant by joining the C-CoAST Network.
Research Agenda Workshop