For more than 10 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on an initiative called Engineering With Nature that uses natural processes and systems to deliver a broad range of economic, environmental, and social benefits. EWN, as it is called, is developing and implementing nature-based solutions for infrastructure, engineering, and water projects.
EWN brings together a growing international community of scientists, engineers, and researchers, from all kinds of disciplines to collaborate on how best to harness the power of nature to innovate, solve problems, and create sustainable solutions.
This podcast tells their stories.
It’s a show about innovation and collaboration. It is about combining natural and engineering systems. And it is about amazing results for infrastructure, the environment, and communities. Scientists and experts will talk about how they are transforming traditional approaches to infrastructure challenges across the US and around the world by applying the principles and practices of EWN.
Sarah Thorne of Decision Partners has been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the EWN initiative for the past decade, and, through this podcast, will share stories of the people, their unique collaborations, and a broad range of projects that exemplify the principles and practices of EWN. We hope you’ll listen to the show and be inspired!
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Dr. Edmond Russo, a 27-year veteran of the US Army Corps of Engineers, has a passion for innovation, especially identifying and pursuing new ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness of water resource management activities. In his work at the Galveston District, he led a team that is developing a 50-year plan to protect and restore the Texas Gulf Coast. In this podcast, Edmond puts the scope and scale of the District into perspective and talks about how he and the Galveston team are incorpora...
An ecologist by training, Dr. Michael W. Beck had been working on more traditional ecological solutions related to marine protected areas until Hurricane Katrina, when he saw that there was a real need for understanding how natural habitats provide coastal resilience. Now his work focuses on figuring out how investing in nature and nature-based solutions can reduce coastal risk and save lives and money. Mike is a Research Professor and Head of the Coastal Resilience Lab at the University of Cali...
Growing up on an Island in the Puget Sound in Washington State, Paula Whitfield lived and played by the ocean, watching every episode of the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and diving as often as she could. Her dream was to become a marine scientist. Today, Paula is a research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), working at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in Silver Spring. She is collaborating on Engineering With Nature (EWN) projects that ...
As an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, Tori Tomiczek’s interests in geotechnical engineering and fluid mechanics, plus her curiosity about how structures were impacted by hurricanes, led to her to focus on coastal engineering. Tori’s experience doing field work in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 reinforced her belief in the importance of protecting our coastlines, and her observations following Hurricane Irma in 2017 led to her groundbreaking work on the important rol...
In October 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base just east of Panama City, Florida was directly hit by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm. The damage was significant with over half of the buildings on the base destroyed. Brig. Gen. Patrice Melancon was called back to active duty to the Tyndall Program Management Office (PMO) to lead the base’s massive $5 billion rebuild. In this episode, we’re talking with Melancon about the groundbreaking work the PMO team is undertaking to rebuild the base and incor...
In this episode, we’re talking with Jeff Corbino, Environmental Resources Specialist with the US Army Corps of Engineers, in the New Orleans District. Jeff is the Environmental Function Chief for the District's Operations Division Technical Support Branch that supports the District’s navigation mission through maintenance of waterways throughout South Louisiana including the dredging of 80 million cubic yards of sediment to operate this vital navigation network. Jeff and his colleagues have been...
On the 10th anniversary of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE), Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative, we’re taking a look at its foundation, fundamental principles, applications to date, and its promise for the future. Dr. Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist in Environmental Science is our guest. Todd serves as the National Lead for EWN and the effort to collaborate across USACE and with other organizations in expanding this approach to infrastructure development. EWN provides opport...
Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on an initiative called Engineering With Nature that uses natural processes and systems to deliver a broad range of economic, environmental, and social benefits. EWN, as it is called, is developing and implementing nature-based solutions for infrastructure, engineering, and water projects. EWN brings together a growing international community of scientists, engineers, and researchers, from all kinds of disciplines to colla...
