Developing a sustainable, ecosystem-based coastal climate change adaptation routemap for policy makers and practitioners.

Lead Research Organisation: University of Glasgow
Department Name: College of Science and Engineering

Abstract

Our coastline is under increasing pressure both in the UK and worldwide. These pressures are caused by human activities - as more and more of us want to live, retire and holiday by the seaside - and also by changing climate and sea-level-rise. Many coastal areas are already showing signs of the combined effects of these pressures. This was demonstrated during the intense and prolonged storms that affected large areas of England in winter 2013/14. Coastal communities experienced damage to mainline railways, destruction of seawalls, rapid cliff erosion and flooding that affected life, health, livelihoods and the economy. We urgently need to understand the risks to our coastline and determine how we can best adapt our coastline to make it safer for us to live in an increasingly stormy world. It is ever more clear that traditional approaches of defending our coastline do not always work, are expensive to maintain and often have negative ecological consequences. In many locations, we are shifting from an era of defending the coast to one where we learn to adapt to a changing coastline. A recent article in Science Magazine shows that scientists and environmental managers agree that understanding and managing how coastal communities and ecosystems will be affected by a changing climate is the third most important environmental management question we need to answer in the next decade.

In the UK, there is general agreement and growing legislative requirements for society to adapt to a changing climate, including how we manage the coast to reduce the risks of flooding and storms. For example, in England, Shoreline Management Plans have strong policy recommendations for the future management of our coastline. In many areas, it is recommended that the current policy of 'hold the line' (aka. defend the coast) is replaced with 'managed realignment' or 'roll-back' where we need to change how we manage the coast. What is currently missing is a clear scientific and policy pathway that helps coastal managers and landowners identify the best methods of designing and funding coastal adaptation options to deliver 'managed realignment' locally. This project will seek to address this gap by:

1. Reviewing, compiling and publishing best practice examples from global research about how to adapt ecosystems and communities to climate change at the coast.
2. Reviewing recent scientific research on how essential ecosystem services for society (such as clean water and reduced flood risk) can be maintained and ideally improved as we change how we manage our coastline.
3. Scientific evidence from 2 will be used as the basis for a Routemap to help coastal landowners and managers best develop practical strategies for adapting our coastline and coastal communities to a changing climate. The project will also identify the key funding mechanisms and policies that can be used to make coastal climate change adaptation projects happen in local communities. I will test the Routemap with a variety of key groups (including core partners and members of the engaged network) that will use the tool to help future-proof our coastal communities such as local councils and businesses that operate along the coast. This will make sure that we have designed a tool that meets their needs and uses local case studies from Cornwall, Suffolk and Scotland to show its capacity. I will measure how the new tool has helped change how people work and the guidance they give.
4. As the project will be linked to an internationally funded project on coastal climate change adaptation, I will draw on this expertise to inform what we do in the UK. I will also showcase the results of the UK analysis worldwide, demonstrating the UK's world leading expertise in this field.

To achieve Objectives 1-4, I involve people beyond my core project partners - who are leading UK businesses, government agencies and climate change adaptation charities (Objective 5).
 
Title Art Walks Porty 
Description Invited participant to give a lecture (2021) and a walk and talk (2022) on coastal climate change risks, as part of two Art Walks Porty festivals. SALT (2022) was a new programme of artist projects and commissions that connects Edinburgh's coastal ecologies with the global climate crisis operating at the intersection of art, science and ecology. This included a written piece in the Exhibition Programme on the science of and learning to live with coastal climate change. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact Invited involvement in Art Walks Porty in 2021 and 2022 has led to a growing collaborative relationship between Art Walks and the University of Glasgow, including Art Walks being a project partners on recent UKRI interdisciplinary research funding applications. 
URL https://www.artwalkporty.co.uk/project-themes/salt/
 
Title Edinburgh Shoreline project documentary 
Description This is a documentary produced by the Shoreline Project, details of the documentary can be found here: http://edinburghshoreline.org.uk/the-edinburgh-shoreline-project-is-1/ This documentary showcases the work completed on the Shoreline Project in the first year. It features two NERC funded projects led by Dr Larissa Naylor at the University of Glasgow (which are linked to this ResearchFish entry). 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact The documentary was launched in early March 2019 to over 50 attendees, where discussion panellists included the local MSP and Director of Place for the City of Edinburgh. 
URL https://youtu.be/i4G8jqpgu70
 
Title Greening the Grey Video 
Description This short film was one of films produced as part of the NERC Public Engagement Pilot project led by Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh, which the University of Glasgow was a partner. Dr Larissa Naylor and her team contributed to this project, and the film showcased work related to two of her NERC funded projects (which this entry is linked to). The link to the wider project site is here: https://edinburghlivinglandscape.org.uk/2017/05/greening-the-grey/ 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2017 
Impact This output has helped the lead organisation (Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh) help raise awareness and secure further funding for them from Heritage Lottery Funding, for The Shoreline Project: http://edinburghshoreline.org.uk/ We have used this video to help promote and showcase the potential for 'Greening the Grey' to national and international partners, including to Japan. The video is hosted by more than one site and the Scottish Wildlife Trust site has had 275 views (by 4 March 2019) and the Royal Botanics (95 view by 4 March 2019). 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJQdURjiztc
 
Description This knowledge exchange fellowship has enabled me to work with partner organisations to help identify barriers and opportunities for identifying, actioning and implementing urban coastal climate change in urbanised coastal areas of the UK. To facilitate this, I developed a rapid systematic review method for appraising the climate change adaptation readiness of existing policies and developed the 'windows of opportunity' concept to help organisations identify what physical, policy and social changes will help facilitate delivery of urban coastal adaptation actions to enable ecosystems and society to be more resilient to current and future climate change. I have also been invited by DEFRA to comment on the flood and coastal erosion review, which is a direct result of the engagement I've had with them during the life of this project.
Exploitation Route The methods and ideas generated by my knowledge exchange fellowship are starting to be taken forward by external partners (see above). Reach and depth of the use of these techniques by external partners will continue in 2019 and beyond, as the knowledge exchange activities start to shape policies and these are implemented by partners to help develop or implement coastal climate change adaptation action plans.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Environment

Government

Democracy and Justice

 
Description 1. My knowledge exchange activities have led to a change in the actions listed on the Edinburgh Adapts Adaptation Action Plan. Prior to my engagement with the Edinburgh Adapts team, a large number of engagement sessions with practitioners, policymakers, key stakeholders and the public had taken place. However, no coastal risks or adaptation needs were identified. Edinburgh is a coastal city along a substantive proportion of its boundary. My engagement led to two coastal actions being added to the plan which has been approved and it was formally launched later in 2016. 2. My research findings were cited in a high level position paper written by the Local Government Association on Coastal Adaptation. My involvement as a reviewer of this report, led me to being invited to a high level DEFRA workshop on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation. The workshop findings and position paper are influencing adaptation planning at national scales. 3. I developed a new concept 'Windows of Opportunity' for climate change adaptation (see publication Brown et al. 2017). Use of this concept is being tested by Historic England, Climate Ready Clyde and Coastal Partnership East to help with internal and public discussions about climate change adaptation. 4. My work with key partners has continued in 2018 where I have helped shape the draft statutory Clyde Marine Plan, the Climate Ready Clyde Adaptation Pathways and Risk Assessment processes. I have also provided further support to Coastal Partnership East where methods developed as part of my fellowship were used as part of consultation and engagement activities as part of the 2018 Suffolk Coastal Forum. 5. I was invited by DFID to act as International expert on a climate change adaptation project in India (I was recommended by DEFRA) and I also was invited to provide input to the DEFRA flood and coastal erosion review during the summer of 2019. In 2020, we were invited to submit a consultation draft for the Edinburgh Cityplan 2030, based on our work with them. The draft version did not mention any coastal climate change risks and/or any need to consider them as part of development planning - so there was thus no perceived risk and no adaptation to these risks in place for this draft version of a statutory document. In 2021, we continued to work with the council and as part of this work, we helped advise on potential revisions to this near final draft statutory plan. The 2nd (near final) plan was released in November 2021 and it now makes direct reference to the need to consider flood and erosion risks at key locations proposed for development, where they will now required to undertake a constraints analysis to assess the coastal climate change risks more fully, before a planning decision is taken. The CityPlan is currently under review by Scottish Government for approval. I also supported the Granton Waterfront Development Plan Scheme in Edinburgh, providing an evaluation of erosion risks, and supporting their adaptation plans with an environmental economics appraisal to support development of a coastal park instead of houses. This development has been approved and our input to the underpinning evidence for this decision is currently being worked up as best practice guidance by Adaptation Scotland. This fellowship was a key catalyst for Larissa Naylor to be invited by the World Bank's Inspection Panel as an external expert. This has led to the inclusion of a technical annex on coastal climate change risks and adaptation options, which is now being used by the Inspection Panel Chair as a case study as part of setting the direction of the Inspection Panel's work.
First Year Of Impact 2016
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other
Impact Types Societal

Policy & public services

 
Description Adaptation Scotland Advisory Network Appointed Member
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Citation of research in Local Government Association's Position Paper on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
 
Description Clyde Marine Plan: IGGI report is referred to in the draft (statutory) Clyde Marine Plan. The research team helped co-write the coastal processes, climate change and adaptation considerations in the draft statutory Marine Plan, directly shaping the policy.
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
 
Description Ecoformliner design for a coastal engineering scheme
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Developing the first ecoformliner design for a live coastal construction scheme with Portsmouth City council. UK-wide government agency interest in ecological net gain and enhancing hard coastal infrastructure is rapidly growing and designing an ecoformliner for the Portsmouth scheme would help close the gap between policy goals and practical implementation, with a product specifically designed to support UK ecology and cultural/aesthetic norms. This formliner is the first known to be designed based on UK science with the goal of improving habitat provision for intertidal species compared to a traditional plain cast concrete engineering design, which can also help provide some accommodation space for species affected by sea level rise. This design has been included in the tender brief for the construction phase of the project, the first known UK flood scheme to specify a formliner specifically designed to enhance ecology for a vertical seawall.
 
Description Edinburgh Adapts - Shaping the content of the Action Plan
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
Impact This impact is a change in the content of the Edinburgh Adapts Action Plan. In the spring of 2016 Adaptation Scotland arranged for me to liaise with the Edinburgh Adaptation team as part of my fellowship activities. This was near the end of an in-depth consultation with numerous stakeholders and the public across Edinburgh. At the time, there were no coastal actions included in the draft Edinburgh Adapts plan. Yet, much of the Northern and Eastern border of Edinburgh is the coast, much of which (e.g. Portobello) is at risk under at changing climate. I led on the discussions between University of Glasgow and the Edinburgh Adapts team, which led to us finessing two actions (BE18 and BE19) for inclusion in the final version of the Adaptation Plan which was published in December 2016. The impact arising from this activity is broadening of the topics (i.e. the coast) and geographic coverage of the Edinburgh Adapts Action Plan which improves the environmental sustainability of the document (as it includes a key area of the city region that was overlooked prior to our engagement). Further activities are planned to help raise awareness of coastal climate change risks for Edinburgh to help deliver against our actions in the plan.
URL http://www.adaptationscotland.org.uk/application/files/5514/7940/1819/Edinburgh_Adapts_Adaptation_Ac...
 
Description International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-based Features for Coasts, Estuaries and Rivers. Co-lead of the chapter on Ecological Enhancements.
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The overall guidelines have had considerable traction since publication in 2021 including: - The NNBF guidelines subsequently won an International Excellence award at the 2022 Environment Agency sponsored Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management award. This is the preeminent practitioner conference on Flood Risk Management in the UK. https://www.ciwem.org/news/flood-and-coast-excellence-awards-2022-winners-announced - Over 1/2 of 142 respondents to a Dutch government survey (they were a lead partner on the guidelines) were found to be actively using the guidance in their work. - Chapter 14 was one of the most well-received chapters by respondents to the Dutch Government Survey, showing strong value from my contribution to the International Guidelines.
URL https://ewn.el.erdc.dren.mil/nnbf-guidelines.html
 
Description International Guidelines on nature and nature-based solutions for coastal flood risk alleviation and improved coastal climate change adaptation. Through my leading the NERC IGGI project, I have been asked to co-lead the chapter on Environmental Enhancements with the US Corp of Army Engineers (USACE). The guidelines are being written by an international team and will be published in 2020.
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
 
Description Invited member of Glasgow City Wide Adaptation Task Force
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Invited participant at high level DEFRA workshop on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Invited reviewer that helped shape Arup's Cities Alive Report
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
URL https://www.arup.com/perspectives/publications/research/section/cities-alive-water-for-people
 
Description Letter correspondence with the UK Minister for Floods
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health
 
Description North Ayrshire Council- IGGI is noted as one of the environmental options being considered to help enhance the ecosystem services value of a planned flood alleviation scheme and provide mitigation for coastal squeeze associated with sea level rise risks.
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact North Ayrshire Council has listed IGGI /Greening the Grey as one of the environmental options being considered to help enhance the ecosystem services value of a planned flood alleviation scheme. This is being included at the options appraisal phase of the scheme's planning and design processes. It builds on the work of my student's PhD examining the interrelationships between geodiversity and biodiversty (funded by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology and the University of Glasgow, which North Ayrshire Council provided logistical support for) and directly links to two of the examples in the IGGI report (AP-C7 and AP-C8). The main impact to date has been a change in practice to include consideration of ecological enhancements as part of the options appraisal process. If IGGI principles and techniques are used in the design for planned scheme there will likely be a mitigation of some construction impacts on ecology as new habitat will be created if implemented. It also has the potential to deliver net ecological gain. These impacts have yet to be realised but the inclusion in the options appraisal phase is promising.
 
Description Project Steering Group - Invited Co-Lead of CIRIA (Construction Innovation and Research Information Association)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Over the past few years, academics worldwide have been researching and trialing innovative methods of adapting typical engineered coastal assets to boost biodiversity and quality in local ecosystems. It is recognised across academia that this "eco-engineering" is not common practice in industry, however, if implemented, there are signs that this could contribute heavily to the UK challenge of increasing grey infrastructure sustainability, particularly along our coastal regions. The goal for the project is to explore the opportunities available to implement 'green' infrastructure along the coastline, whether that be through replacement, retrofitting or as part of a new build. It would aim to explore the design, materials, asset lifecycle and the provide key information on the development of engaging business cases to increase awareness of this innovative approach to coastal asset management. HR Wallingford have been appointed as research contractors, supported by Royal Haskoning DHV and HAEDES, with Prof. Larissa Naylor of the University of Glasgow, one of the academic co-authors of aspects of the guidance. It is reviewed by Dr Louise Firth, University of Cork and Dr Burton Suedel of USACE. This guidance is under development so the reach and impact cannot yet be measured. It may be possible to measure how the various practitioners on the steering group perceive the benefits of the work.
URL https://www.ciria.org/CIRIA/Research/Projects_underway2/Eco-engineering__Greening_coastal_infrastruc...
 
Description Shaping Climate Ready Clyde's Adaptation Pathways and Risk Assessment Work. As a member of the Sea Level Rise Steering Committee of Climate Ready Clyde, I have actively contributed to the risk assessment and adaptation pathways work of the partnership, helping to shape and inform these activities with my research and knowledge exchange activities.
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
 
Description As part of the UK Newton Fund activities, NERC, are co-funding 'Using Critical Zone Science to understand sustaining the ecosystem service of soil and water'.
Amount £518,000 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/N007425/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2016 
End 01/2019
 
Description EPSRC Impact Accelerator Account (to University of Glasgow, EP/R511705/1)
Amount £8,554 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/R511705/1 
Organisation University of Glasgow 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2019 
End 09/2019
 
Description Engaging the UK public with the big issues of environmental science: 2016 public engagement funding call
Amount £39,912 (GBP)
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 03/2017
 
Description NERC Urgency Grant
Amount £52,401 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/P021433/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2017 
End 02/2018
 
Description National Coastal Change Assessment 2 which is an extension of the first National Coastal Change Assessment (http://www.dynamiccoast.com) which is funded by the Scottish Government via CREW.
Amount £237,000 (GBP)
Organisation Government of Scotland 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2018 
End 12/2019
 
Description Collaboration with several new organisations 
Organisation Concrete in the Classroom
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Via the NERC PE Pilot funding that I am a co-I on, several new collaborations have commenced with businesses and NGOs including: Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, Concrete in the Classroom and Scottish Wildlife Trust. This has also helped pave the way for conversations with key organisations including Reckli who make concrete formliners.
Collaborator Contribution This collaborative project has allowed my research to be extended into Edinburgh region and be used to underpin delivery of key initiatives in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Adapts and Edinburgh living landscapes. The core partners have extensive contacts with the council, local schools and the private sector which greatly facilitated the capacity to deliver KE related to my research and KE fellowship, well beyond what would have been possible for my own work.
Impact This collaborative project has extended the KE fellowship and NERC GI innovation project work into primary and secondary school classrooms in Edinburgh and beyond into the central belt of Scotland. Previous KE outputs have also been embedded into this curricula (e.g. www.shoreshapers.org and Counting the coast of climate change at the coast, produced when I was at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research), providing further reach of these materials.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Collaboration with several new organisations 
Organisation Portsmouth City Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Via the NERC PE Pilot funding that I am a co-I on, several new collaborations have commenced with businesses and NGOs including: Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, Concrete in the Classroom and Scottish Wildlife Trust. This has also helped pave the way for conversations with key organisations including Reckli who make concrete formliners.
Collaborator Contribution This collaborative project has allowed my research to be extended into Edinburgh region and be used to underpin delivery of key initiatives in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Adapts and Edinburgh living landscapes. The core partners have extensive contacts with the council, local schools and the private sector which greatly facilitated the capacity to deliver KE related to my research and KE fellowship, well beyond what would have been possible for my own work.
Impact This collaborative project has extended the KE fellowship and NERC GI innovation project work into primary and secondary school classrooms in Edinburgh and beyond into the central belt of Scotland. Previous KE outputs have also been embedded into this curricula (e.g. www.shoreshapers.org and Counting the coast of climate change at the coast, produced when I was at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research), providing further reach of these materials.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Collaboration with several new organisations 
Organisation Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Via the NERC PE Pilot funding that I am a co-I on, several new collaborations have commenced with businesses and NGOs including: Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, Concrete in the Classroom and Scottish Wildlife Trust. This has also helped pave the way for conversations with key organisations including Reckli who make concrete formliners.
Collaborator Contribution This collaborative project has allowed my research to be extended into Edinburgh region and be used to underpin delivery of key initiatives in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Adapts and Edinburgh living landscapes. The core partners have extensive contacts with the council, local schools and the private sector which greatly facilitated the capacity to deliver KE related to my research and KE fellowship, well beyond what would have been possible for my own work.
Impact This collaborative project has extended the KE fellowship and NERC GI innovation project work into primary and secondary school classrooms in Edinburgh and beyond into the central belt of Scotland. Previous KE outputs have also been embedded into this curricula (e.g. www.shoreshapers.org and Counting the coast of climate change at the coast, produced when I was at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research), providing further reach of these materials.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Collaboration with several new organisations 
Organisation Scottish Wildlife Trust
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Via the NERC PE Pilot funding that I am a co-I on, several new collaborations have commenced with businesses and NGOs including: Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, Concrete in the Classroom and Scottish Wildlife Trust. This has also helped pave the way for conversations with key organisations including Reckli who make concrete formliners.
Collaborator Contribution This collaborative project has allowed my research to be extended into Edinburgh region and be used to underpin delivery of key initiatives in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Adapts and Edinburgh living landscapes. The core partners have extensive contacts with the council, local schools and the private sector which greatly facilitated the capacity to deliver KE related to my research and KE fellowship, well beyond what would have been possible for my own work.
Impact This collaborative project has extended the KE fellowship and NERC GI innovation project work into primary and secondary school classrooms in Edinburgh and beyond into the central belt of Scotland. Previous KE outputs have also been embedded into this curricula (e.g. www.shoreshapers.org and Counting the coast of climate change at the coast, produced when I was at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research), providing further reach of these materials.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Collaboration with several new organisations 
Organisation University of Edinburgh
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Via the NERC PE Pilot funding that I am a co-I on, several new collaborations have commenced with businesses and NGOs including: Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, Concrete in the Classroom and Scottish Wildlife Trust. This has also helped pave the way for conversations with key organisations including Reckli who make concrete formliners.
Collaborator Contribution This collaborative project has allowed my research to be extended into Edinburgh region and be used to underpin delivery of key initiatives in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Adapts and Edinburgh living landscapes. The core partners have extensive contacts with the council, local schools and the private sector which greatly facilitated the capacity to deliver KE related to my research and KE fellowship, well beyond what would have been possible for my own work.
Impact This collaborative project has extended the KE fellowship and NERC GI innovation project work into primary and secondary school classrooms in Edinburgh and beyond into the central belt of Scotland. Previous KE outputs have also been embedded into this curricula (e.g. www.shoreshapers.org and Counting the coast of climate change at the coast, produced when I was at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research), providing further reach of these materials.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Coastal Climate Change Fellowship Scoping Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was a workshop that I organised at LGA House in London with my key English partners supporting my fellowship (UKCIP and the Local Government Association's Coastal Special Interest Group). They assisted me in widening the reach of the workshop to include key staff at Natural England, DEFRA and Historic England who are not part of the core team of project partners (c. 15 participants). We spend a day together co-developing the key planned outputs from my fellowship including setting key questions for important aspects such as rapid evidence reviews. I also drew in researchers on key projects funded by RCUK and the Belmont Forum to extend the academic research that was showcased to aid discussions about the specific focus of my KE fellowship.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description ECCA Workshop on Making Space for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation (June 2017) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I designed and led an international workshop on Making Space for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation that was co-led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and run as a workshop alongside the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference in June 2017. We invited participants from a range of sectors across England and Scotland, and drew in international expertise from academics and practitioners attending the conference from overseas. This practice-based workshop was designed to identify blockages and opportunities to deliver climate change adaptation actions in different local contexts in England and Scotland. It identified key policy and governance blockages and opportunities to deliver ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation in Suffolk, Cornwall, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Firth of Forth.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://ecca2017.eu/conference/coastal-adaptation-problem-solving-lab/
 
Description Edinburgh 2050 Coastal Climate Change Vision (Dec 2017) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact We were invited by the Edinburgh Adapts team to write a blog post for the Edinburgh 2050 blog, which has been created to help generate ideas and interest in the City of Edinburgh's 2050 Vision for the city which is currently being created. It is part of a series of activities designed to help raise the profile of Edinburgh as a coastal city and the need to consider coastal adaptation to climate change to maintain ecosystem services and improve resiliency of the city to coastal climate change.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://edinburgh.org/blog/urban-coast-adapt/
 
Description Edinburgh Adapts Coastal Workshop (Spring 2017) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact We organised this event with support from Adaptation Scotland and the Edinburgh Adapts team, which enabled the City of Edinburgh to deliver on one of the actions in their Climate Change Action Plan. The workshop brought together staff from key departments across the City of Edinburgh and was designed to raise awareness of coastal risks and adaptation opportunities along Edinburgh's coastal boundary. Interesting ideas were generated for how to facilitate funding for adaptation and identifying policy windows within the City of Edinburgh where coastal climate change adaptation could be embedded. This led to us being invited to write the Edinburgh 2050 blog post and further discussions are ongoing for other activities to help identify specific coastal climate change risks and adaptation opportunities for the city.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Edinburgh Shoreline Exhibition with Edinburgh Living Landscapes/City of Edinburgh 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Edinburgh Living Landscapes/City of Edinburgh has showcased Greening the Grey and Coastal Climate Change adaptation in a public exhibition running from June - October 2018; this is being evaluated by their project. 43,065 people saw the exhibition . The ideas presented in the exhibition resulted in 48/51 participants having a slightly improved or improved understanding of the cultural and environmental significance of Edinburgh as a coastal city. Of those surveyed, 92.16% had some degree of improvement in their understanding of coastal climate change and 80.40% stated they would 'certainly' think differently about how coastal climate change would impact Edinburgh after the exhibition. In addition, by raising awareness of the value and risks to Edinburgh as a coastal city, participants said they were likely to visit the shoreline as a result of the exhibition (45.10%) in addition to those who already visit the shoreline regularly (29.41%) and stated that they were either possibly (43.14%) or certainly (50.98%) more likely to actively work on protecting the Edinburgh shoreline as a result of the exhibition. Those surveyed were across a varied age range from under 16 to over 65 and the majority lived within Edinburgh, highlighting this exhibition's success increasing awareness in understanding the value of Edinburgh's shoreline.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://edinburghshoreline.org.uk/events/edinburgh-shoreline-exhibition/
 
Description Glasgow City Wide Climate Change Task Force - First Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This activity was the first scoping workshop of the Glasgow City Wide Adaptation Task Force, which I was invited to sit on during the summer of 2016. This workshop was the first of a series of activities designed to develop a Glasgow City Wide Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan. There were over 50 participants from local government, businesses and the third sector along with key government bodies in Scotland (e.g. NHS, SEPA and SNH). Key inputs of mine to the event planning were two-fold: 1) To help design the workshop contents and breadth of invitees and 2) to design a questionnaire for participants to complete upon arrival, to help gauge their baseline understanding and professional experience of considering climate change adaptation. This will be followed up with participants at subsequent focus groups planned in 2017. Glasgow City Council staff are currently analysing these data. On the day, I also was responsible for facilitating one group of participants.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description ICE Breakwaters Talk on Greening the Grey 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation at the Institute of Civil Engineer's Bi-annual Coastal Breakwaters Conference. There have been a few outcomes from this meeting: a) new connections with SMEs, contractors and key flood risk consultancies (e.g. JBA consulting); b) invited onto the scientific steering committee for the ICE's Coastal Management Conference in France in 2019 and most influentially, c) follow-up invitation to advise and on-going discussions with Solent East Coastal Partnership about schemes they are developing where ecological enhancements or urban coastal climate change adaptation might be possible. This interaction has helped influence local flood risk planning decisions by identifying further areas suitable for managed realignment and discussed ideas for ecological enhancements, which are on-going. The main impact thus far has been behavioural change:
"We initially contacted Dr Naylor after seeing her give an inspirational talk at an ICE conference, and thought that she could help us to priorities selection of enhancement measures on a FCERM scheme that is in the detailed design stage. Dr Naylor came down for a site visit and has since provided follow up advice. The help and guidance that Dr Naylor has provided to the project has been invaluable. We as a team have learnt so much which we are now really enthused to put into practise. It has also given us the confidence that try enhancements which we were rather weary to try before. As we can now see how they have worked elsewhere and can also appreciate the wider benefits and costs of such measures, as detailed in the Greening the Grey Report. Dr Naylor has opened up avenues of research and contacts within the academic arena that we would not have been able to previously access. We are also now looking at possible ways that we can try and get universities involved to study the enhancements to give our work scientific rigour, whilst also furthering research in the field on a scale that would not have been open to academia, if we had not met up with Dr Naylor - a win-win situation. We really appreciate the advice that we have received and hope that we can continue a strong partnership going forward," East Solent Coastal Partnership Staff Member
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.samhallsbyggarna.org/media/392089/ice-breakwaters-2017-complete-brochure.pdf
 
Description Invited talk at the Local Government Association's Coastal Special Interest Group (March 2017) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I was invited by the Head of the Coastal Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Local Government Association (LGA) to give them an update on my climate change adaptation fellowship work thus far as part of their bi-annual meetings at DEFRA in London. This meeting also gave me the opportunity to meet Daniel Craig at DEFRA who is a working alongside Bill Parker to help progress coastal adaptation within central government. Several attendees requested further information; I was also invited to participate (and give a presentation) in a DEFRA-LGA workshop designed to develop coastal adaptation guidance in April 2017 in London.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Invited to sit on the local advisory committee of the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact I have helped shape the activities of the Local Advisory Committee of the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference, after being invited to sit on this group by NERC. This group is currently planning a series of activities (between June 2016 - June 2017) and sessions that support will the conference, and allow permeability between the conference and the citizens of Glasgow. In particular, I have forged a link between the conference and Glasgow Science Festival, which the festival organiser is particularly keen to support as few academic conferences are linked to the wider community. In June 2017, a series of activities will run that allow conference delegates from around the world share their climate change adaptation science with the public through art, film and creative magazine production (zine making).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017
 
Description NERC Unearthed Sessions on Turning the Tides and National Coastal Change Assessment Scotland 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact I assisted with the University of Glasgow contribution to coastal climate change risks and nature-based solutions to managing flood and storm risks at the NERC Unearthed Event at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh. It was estimated that 3000-4000 people participated in the event, where feedback collected by the NERC Unearthed Team showed an improved understanding of environmental science, and coastal climate change risks and adaptation specifically.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://unearthed.nerc.ac.uk
 
Description Presentation to the Scots Group (Flooding) Spring 2016 Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation to the Scots Group (c. 50 delegates) of coastal and river engineers on the topics of coastal climate change adaptation and improving the multifunctionality of hard coastal structures. This activity led to follow-up from engaged members of the Scotsgroup to find out more about my on-going projects. The opportunity to meet this key group of Scottish stakeholders also aided delivery of the Information Sharing event at ScotFlood in 2017, as I was able to make use of this network to garner interest in our event at the 2017 Scottish Flood Conference.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Press releases around coastal storms and flooding, stemming from my publications and working group activities. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Three press releases were written and launched (December 2015, January 2016, December 2016) in relation to Stormy Geomorphology working group activities and publications that are linked to my research fellowship activities, looking at coastal risks to increased storminess. These press releases led to citations in the national press (Scotland on Sunday and The Times), along with local radio (BBC Devon, BBC Cornwall and Radio Clyde) as well as online news agencies www.phys.org, as well as multiple tweets/retweets.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017
 
Description Pub talk: The future of Edinburgh's coastline - discussions on climate change impacts and green infrastructure 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A talk in a pub in Edinburgh to approximately 20-30 people about the future of Edinburgh's coastline and potential adaptation and mitigation strategies e.g. IGGI in the face of a changing climate.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Scottish Flood Conference Information Sharing and Consultation Event 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A pop-up awareness raising and consultation stall was set-up at the Scottish Flood conference on 7th of February 2017. This pop-up stall shared science linked to three NERC-funded projects; the two which this report is tethered too along with a NERC Public Engagement Pilot led by Leonie Alexander at the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/latest/news/nerc/funded-pe-projects/), which I am supporting as part of my NERC KE fellowship. This event was designed to help highlight some of the challenges and solutions for helping to enhance or maintain ecosystem services along highly urbanised coasts where hard infrastructure is used to support policy decisions to 'hold the line'. As part of the event we asked participants to complete a short survey to let us know about their prior knowledge of how concrete can be modified to improve ecological outcomes at the coast. Several expressed an interest in learning more about these ideas and/or were unaware of them prior to meeting with us on the day. We've been asked to follow-up with Scottish consultancies and local government teams around this topic as an outcome of this engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.sniffer.org.uk/knowledge-hubs/resilient-catchments/flood-risk-management/flood-risk-manag...