The two-day conference, held April 16-18 in the Campus Center Ballroom, featured keynote presentations from Dr. Katherine Dafforn, co-director of the Stone Living Lab and UMass Boston distinguished professor of climate resilience; Dr. Atyia Martin, CEO and founder of All Aces, Inc.; and Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.

The Stone Living Lab is an innovative and collaborative initiative for testing and scaling up nature-based approaches to climate adaptation, coastal resilience and ecological restoration in Boston. The lab is a partnership between UMass Boston’s School for the Environment and Boston Harbor Now, the City of Boston, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the National Park Service, and the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation that engages scientists and the community in research, education, and the promotion of equity.

The conference brought together 300 local, regional, and select national and international researchers, municipal leaders, and practitioners to present on and learn from innovations in nature based approaches for protecting communities from climate-related natural disasters.

Presentation topics included marine data for coastal resilience, social resilience is climate resilience, design and implementation case studies, preparing communities and learning and implementing with communities, reimagining what is possible, and innovation in the face of rapid change.

The next bi-annual conference is planned for April 2027.