Stewardship practitioners and others who wish to engage the public through outreach and engagement in communities across the Chesapeake Bay watershed will benefit from a systematic analysis of barriers for stewardship engagement in local communities.

IAN is working with the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) to support the development of the newest version of it's Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool (CAST). The CAST model is a web-based tool that allows nutrient and sediment load estimates for any specific geographical area within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Human activities and climate change are making tidal rivers and estuaries saltier. These salinity changes threaten drinking water supply, coastal infrastructure, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems. Currently, most people do not have the information they need to plan for and mitigate these potential impacts.

Chesapeake Bay is home to one of the largest oyster restoration efforts in North America and supports a thriving oyster fishery. However, a shortage of fresh oyster shells threatens these activities. The overall objective of this work is to provide science-based guidance to the Maryland state legislature about the potential to use alternative substrates to oyster shells for oyster habitat and the viability of retrofitting existing structures for oyster restoration and fisheries.

The Coastal Ocean Assessment for Sustainability and Transformation (COAST) Card is a transnational and transdisciplinary research program funded through the Belmont Forum, a consortium of research funders that have targeted funds towards research that engages stakeholders into a co-design and co-development process, to foster solutions to global sustainability challenges. The project brings together researchers from the United States, Philippines, Norway, India, and Japan.

Do you want to “change the conversation” and guide society toward solutions for complex resilience and sustainability challenges that benefit present and future generations? This Professional Certificate program is comprised of four knowledge-rich courses including: Strategic Communication for Sustainability Leaders, Storytelling with Data Using Socio-environmental Report Cards, The Science Advisory Toolbox for Environmental Management, and Innovative Environmental Management Models:

Incorporating novel indicators into the Chesapeake Bay Report Card. Make key improvements to the Chesapeake Bay Report Card, which has served since 2006 as the definitive source for ecosystem health status in the Bay and tidal tributaries.