PRP Catalyzes $500K in NOAA Funding for Port

Working closely with the City of Providence, Groundwork RI, Save The Bay and other partners, the PRP spurred funding for an innovative, co-learning project on climate resilience and habitat restoration to engage residents in South Providence and Washington Park. The three-year project will collaboratively examine the shoreline from Sassafras Cove to Collier Point Park, focusing on improved climate resilience and increased habitat restoration, as well as other nature-based solutions.

The Biden-Harris Administration just announced recommended funding for “Catalyzing Citizen Engagement in Port of Providence Climate Resilience and Habitat Restoration” as part of NOAA’s national Climate-Ready Coasts initiative. The Providence Resilience Partnership (PRP) first identified the funding opportunity last summer, then catalyzed work with the City of Providence, Groundwork Rhode Island, Save The Bay and many other partners to develop a proposal for a community co-learning project in the Port of Providence. 

The NOAA project will generate important climate risk data for a particularly vulnerable part of the city facing increasingly severe storms and sea level rise. But more importantly, it is designed to engage the South Providence and Washington Park neighborhoods in a collaborative learning process to understand the opportunities for healthier natural spaces along a distressed, post-industrial coastline – from Sassafras Cove to Collier Point Park. The coastline analysis will focus on improved climate resilience and increased habitat restoration, as well as other nature-based solutions. By learning together with city officials and other partners, residents can actively collaborate in decisions about how that coastline area can be protected from future climate impacts.

The PRP is receiving no funding from the NOAA project but will serve as an advisor throughout the three-year engagement to guide the climate resilience analysis and connect it to a larger citywide Climate Vulnerability Assessment.