We’re all about giving students chances to get real-world experience in the field of nature-based solutions. This crew took a class project to new heights, learning about resilience with a real impact.

The Delta Stewardship Council, a state agency of California, focuses conservation efforts on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which supplies water to over 27 million people. The Council’s “Delta Adapts” plan aims to create a comprehensive regional approach to climate resiliency to protect water resources, farmland, ecosystems and the economy.

This spring, the Resilience Concepts, Methods, and Applications course taught by Alysha Helmrich, Don Nelson and Todd Bridges took on a uniquely professional final project. The students broke into groups and focused on different strategic aspects of the plan: flood risk reduction, ecosystems, agriculture, and water supply reliability.

Each group focused on one strategic aspect of the plan – flood risk reduction, ecosystems, agriculture, and water supply reliability. The groups used the analytical tools they learned in class to assess the tradeoffs, values, bright spots and recommendations for improvement for each aspect of the plan, turning their work into detailed posters.

That’s not all- since the class overlapped with a public comment time, each team was able to meet with members of the Delta Council to present their comments.

Happy last day of class, dawgs!