New England Climate Adaptation Project: Case Studies Dover, New Hampshire; Barnstable, Massachusetts; Wells, Maine and Cranston, Rhode Island.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Impact Collaborative worked with the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and the Consensus Building Institute to test an innovative way to help coastal communities understand and prepare for the potential impacts of climate change. With a grant from the NERRS Science Collaborative, the team engaged four at-risk New England towns in testing the use of role-play simulations as a means to educate the public about climate change threats and to help communities explore ways of decreasing their vulnerability and enhancing their resilience to climate change impacts. The results of the two year project are summarized in four case studies.