Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) affiliate Brock Woodson was featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as part of a collaborative project that seeks to save Sapelo Island’s historic community, Hogg Hummock, from a growing threat: rising seas.

Last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $2.8 million grant to the community and partners to develop nature-based solutions to buffer the impacts from increasing flood hazards.

By collaborating with the Gullah Geechee community, supporting Sapelo Island’s Save Our Legacy Ourself (SOLO), developing infrastructure solutions through IRIS, and sourcing materials from Athens-based nonprofit Shell to Shore, the group is hopeful that “holistic” solutions can be achieved.

“They [Gullah Geechee people] have a deeper knowledge than many people do, because they had to,” said Nik Heynen, UGA professor of geography and one of the founders of Shell to Shore, in the article. “It’s not a book knowledge, like I have. It’s a lived experience.”

Read the full article here on AJC.com. For more information on the project, check out our previous article on this work here.

Featured image: Sapelo Sea Farms clam planting and harvesting boat, Sapelo Island. Via UGA Marketing & Communications