Photo: Participants work on a real-world climate resilience project during the Coastal Climate Resilience course workshop in October 2024.
CSP and the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience are continuing the successful launch of a new professional development course in Coastal Climate Resilience. This past fall, 43 professionals enrolled to form a unique cohort across climate resilience sectors, including local, state, and federal government agencies, community based organizations, science and research organizations, consulting firms, and nonprofit organizations (see chart below.)
Chart: Sectors and sample of job titles of participants in the Fall 2024 Coastal Climate Resilience course.
The course is being taught again this spring through UC Extension; with registration open now. The 9-week course uses a hybrid instructional format, with eight interactive live-online sessions, culminating in 2.5 days of in-person instruction at the UC Santa Cruz coastal campus. Course modules are developed and taught by climate experts at UC Santa Cruz, as well as expert practitioners at the US Geological Survey, FEMA, NOAA, officials from the Bay Area and Santa Cruz, leading consultant firms, and nonprofit organizations. Course instruction and activities are grounded in science, ensuring participants build knowledge and skills in adaptation and resilience strategies, nature-based solutions, how to apply for resilience funding, innovative financing, the insurance landscape, equitable engagement of interested parties in climate resilience, and more (CCR Course Syllabus_Spring 2025).
The course is designed for practitioners to build a framework of opportunities, innovations, and practical solutions in coastal climate resilience. 93% of participants who provided feedback indicated the course was ‘highly effective’ or ‘effective’ in helping them make tangible progress in their work on coastal climate resilience. No one indicated the course was ‘not effective.’ Below are photos from the fall 2024 course’s 2.5 day workshop and testimonials from participants.
Photo: Course participant discusses a real-world climate resilience challenge.
Testimonial: “This course provided much needed context in a quickly growing field! I have gained confidence in my ability to consider nature-based solutions in a coastal adaptation context and to garner funding and support needed to successfully implement them.”
Photo: Course instructor Borja Reguero, UCSC, discusses climate resilient solutions with course participants.
Testimonial: “As an individual who works in a space where I have 10 elected officials, including City Council members and County Supervisors as Board Members, I feel better prepared to suggest policies and projects that can enhance climate resiliency in each member’s jurisdiction.”
Photo: Course participant adding climate resilience ideas on a map.
Testimonial: “This course provided invaluable opportunities to connect with a diverse network of professionals and gain practical insights into the evolving field of adaptation. The combination of in-depth workshops, case studies, and perspectives from community-based organizations, engineers, and planners made it a unique and enriching experience. It not only deepened my understanding of resilience challenges but also equipped me with tools and connections to drive meaningful action. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to make a tangible impact in climate adaptation.”
Photo: From left: Course instructors Janan Reilly, FEMA; Megan Kelso, UCSC, Kris May, Climate Pathways
Testimonial: “What I gained from this course far exceeded my expectations. These fresh ideas broke me out of my bubble and allowed me to approach challenges in new ways.”