• Resilient Virginia: Priorities and Approaches in the Next Four Years
• Resiliency Explained: Interview of Annette Osso, Managing Director, Resilient Virginia by Virginia Delegate Ken Plum
• Global Cooperation for a Better World: Taking Action at the City and Local Level
• USGBC Virginia and Resilient Virginia Offer Resiliency Education Series
• GoGreen Virginia: Your Local Government’s Guidepost to Sustainability and Resiliency
• Resilient Events Calendar
• Your Membership Counts!

What’s New

Resilient Virginia: Priorities and Approaches for the Next Four Years

Resilient Virginia’s Board of Directors has set a path for the organization’s next four years that will focus on a number of resiliency topics deemed priorities at our February “Virginia’s Sustainable Future Meeting.” The organization views these priorities — that include energy and food security, water management and infrastructure adaptation, health and economic stability, and ecosystem valuation — through the lens of rural and urban communities’ interdependencies as they all address a growing range of climate-driven and national security challenges. Below is a graphic representation of the shared issues and as well as resiliency topics more focused on the rural or urban areas.

Resilient Virginia is moving ahead to “Inform, Educate, and Activate” community members, governments, and businesses about these priority areas by implementing actions that include the following:

• For 2018 and beyond: Resilient Virginia is partnering with like-minded organizations to co-host or participate in educational events. This Spring we co-hosted events with the US Green Building Council, Science Museum of Virginia, and Arlington Home Show. In addition, Annette Osso, Resilient Virginia’s Managing Director, participated as the NGO member of the National Capital Region Team invited to the Building Resilient Communities Leadership Academy, a 3-day workshop hosted by the Institute for Sustainable Communities. This summer Resilient Virginia’s Annette Osso will be speaking at the Leaders in Energy’s “Green Leaders for Local Impact Retreat” on June 8 (see article below), and again co-hosting presentations with the USGBC Virginia (see article below).
• Resilient Virginia will organize an October 2018 Rural Resiliency Roundtable Forum to focus on issues of special importance to rural and agricultural communities. You are invited to participate in the Planning Committee for this event by contacting Annette Osso (osso@resilientvirginia.org).
• Our next statewide Resilient Virginia Conference will take place in the Spring of 2019. Planning for this event will begin in September 2018. Contact Annette Osso (osso@resilientvirginia.org) to be included on the Planning Committee.

You are invited to our July 19th Annual Meeting to hear more details about upcoming Resilient Virginia activities, to meet our Board and Advisory members, and to add your voice on local communities’ and state agencies’ resiliency priorities. We will share more details about this upcoming event in the near future!
Resilient Virginia invites your active support for these new initiatives by:

• Volunteering (contact Annette Osso to join a Planning Committee or contribute to our newsletters),
• Becoming a Member or Annual Sponsor.

Resiliency Explained: Annette Osso, Managing Director, Resilient Virginia Interviewed by Virginia Delegate Ken Plum

We want to thank State Delegate Ken Plum for inviting Annette Osso, Resilient Virginia’s Managing Director, to provide an informative interview about the past, present, and future of resiliency planning in Virginia.

This appeared on his weekly broadcast on the Reston Comcast Channel May 8 and 9.

You can view the program here and on the Resilient Virginia YouTube Channel.

Global Cooperation for a Better World: Taking Action at the City and Local Level

By Janine Finnell, NCAC-USAEE Member and Executive Director, Leaders in Energy

(Editor’s Note: Janine Finnell’s Leaders in Energy organization has been a Resilient Virginia Annual Sponsor and event partner for two years. Annette Osso, Resilient Virginia’s Managing Director, will again be involved with this organization as one of the speakers at their June 8 event, “Green Leaders for Local Impact.” We provide this background article by Janine Finnell on linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals to local actions.)

Our planet and its inhabitants face numerous challenges ranging from people not having enough to eat, threats to biodiversity, growing inequality, and pollution that is changing our planet’s capacity to provide sustainable livelihoods due to climate change. This is a tall order of concerns.

Suppose there was an “Innovation Jam” where everyone in the world got together to see what could be done about these issues. In 2015, the United Nations did something along these lines. It conducted a consultation among 5 million people from across 88 countries in all the world’s regions asking for their shared vision for the world in 2030. The result is the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

Three U.S. cities have been at the forefront in working to operationalize these goals into their urban planning programs. These include Baltimore, New York, and San Jose. In addition, a recent report titled “The U.S. Cities Sustainable Development Goals Index 2017: Achieving a Sustainable Urban America” examined progress being made towards sustainable development in the 100 most populous U.S. cities.

A fun quiz called “Which Goals Are You?” helps those who are new to the UN SDGs to identify the ones that that most resonate with their own personal interests.

Communities in the greater Washington area can also benefit from the SDGs, while also making our world a better place.

In that spirit, a “Green Leaders for Local Impact Retreat” will be held in Arlington, VA hosted by Leaders in Energy on June 8th, from 1–5 pm. The retreat will examine several UN SDGs, including #7 on clean energy, to explore actionable solutions to create more sustainable LOCAL communities in the DMV region. Won’t you join us in seeking to make a Green LOCAL impact with local SDGs?

USGBC Virginia and Resilient Virginia Offer Resiliency Education Series

The series will share tools and strategies for building practitioners, community leaders and resiliency advocates.

Published on April 25, 2018 at https://www.usgbc.org/

By Cindy Zork, Director, Community — Virginia & Tennessee, U.S. Green Building Council

(Editor’s Note: Resilient Virginia and USGBC Virginia have embarked on a joint resiliency education series of presentations. This article by Cindy Zork provides some information on the USGBC resiliency activities at the national policy level and in Virginia.)

In accordance with the 2014 industry statement on resilience released by the U.S. design and construction industry, USGBC recognizes that “natural and manmade hazards pose an increasing threat to the safety of the public and the vitality of our nation.” Addressing issues of community resilience are critical to better preparing and recovering from these hazards.

The USGBC Virginia community is partnering with Resilient Virginia to provide education focused on improving the resilience of buildings, infrastructure and communities in the Commonwealth. Preparing for harmful events with sustainable planning and policy can save money and accelerate recovery.

Join us for our 2018 Resiliency Education series to learn more about tools and strategies available to building practitioners, community leaders and resiliency advocates. Our first session, held in Roanoke in March, focused on the city’s use of the Envision Rating System for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Future events are listed below. USGBC community members and Resilient Virginia members receive a discounted rate to attend. One hour of GBCI CE credit will be offered where applicable.

Resiliency Education Series Dates

When: June 12, 12 noon–1:00 pm
What: Shaken, Not Stirred: Community and Building Resilience—The Means to It and Its Measures
Presented by Dan Slone, Vertical Vision PLC
Where: Charlottesville, VA
Register for the June session.
Read more about the new RELi design standards.

When: July 17, 12 noon–1:30pm
What: Collaboratory: University/Government/Industry Collaborations on Flooding Adaptation
Presented by Skip Stiles, Wetlands Watch.
Where: Hampton Roads, location TBD
Register for the July session.

Dates for additional events in Richmond and Northern Virginia will be announced soon.

GoGreen Virginia: Your Local Government’s Guidepost to Sustainability and Resiliency

Go Green Virginia is celebrating its 10th year as a pathway to sustainability and energy savings for cities, towns, and counties around the Commonwealth. The program, working with the Virginia Municipal League (VML) and Virginia Association of Counties (VACO), provides a guide to communities and sets up an annual friendly competition known as the Green Government Challenge. The “Challenge” is designed to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that not only reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainability initiatives, but can save local governments money.

Resilient Virginia is pleased to have been actively involved on the Advisory Committee over the past three years. In 2016 we were invited to add the newly created “Resiliency Checklist” to the GoGreen Virginia document. For the 2018 GoGreen Challenge, we are happy to report that resiliency is highlighted in several ways throughout the Challenge. For example, Item One provides points to communities that “Adopt a resolution focused on environmental stewardship, sustainability, or resiliency.” In addition, key resiliency aspects for local government planning and actions are highlighted in the Resiliency Section (Items 85–93).

We encourage local governments to weigh in on the Resiliency Section this year, since Virginia communities are facing increasingly more frequent weather and environmental challenges. These include extreme weather events and intermittent drought conditions, and well as the increased occurrence of extreme heat events, periodic flooding, sea level rise, and new health risks.

Resilient communities are better able to bounce back from disasters and disruptions in a sustainable way, while maintaining a vibrant quality of life for community members. In the long term, they are better prepared for uncertainties and able to adapt to changing conditions.

The Go Green Challenge for local governments opened May 15; check out the details at http://www.gogreenva.org/. Local governments can garner points by taking specific actions and be recognized as certified, silver, gold or platinum green governments.

Important dates for cities, towns, and counties that want to enter the Green Government Challenge:

VML Green Government Challenge deadline: September 3, 2018.

VACO Green Government Challenge deadline: October 5, 2018.

Thanks to Our 2017–2018 Annual Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor

Community Leader Sponsor

Lifeboat Sponsors

Village Sponsors

Resilience Events Calendar

Summer 2018 Event Highlights — Add these special events co-hosted by Resilient Virginia to your calendar

June 8, 1:00–5:00pm: Green Leaders for Local Impact Retreat. Presented by Leaders in Energy Event, Potomac Overlook Regional Park, Arlington, VA. Click here for details.

June 12, 12 Noon–1:00pm: Daniel Slone, Vertical Vision, PLC, Shaken, Not Stirred: Community and Building Resilience. Co-hosted by USGBC Virginia and Resilient Virginia, City Space, Charlottesville, VA. Click here for details.

July 17, 12 Noon–1:30pm: Skip Stiles, Wetland Watch, Collaborations on Flooding Adaptation, Hampton Roads. Co-hosted by USGBC Virginia and Resilient Virginia, Location TBD. Click here for details.

July 19: Resilient Virginia Annual Meeting. Members, supporters, and partners are invited to participate and learn more about the Resilient Virginia new Strategic Plan, network, and add your voice to resiliency planning. Look for more details and registration information coming soon!

Check our Resilient Events Calendar on a regular basis to find out what is happening in Virginia, around the nation, and virtually through webinars.

Membership — Be Resilient and Stay Cool This Summer — Join Today!

Resilient Virginia is on a mission to

*Inform   *Educate   and   *Activate

Virginia communities to build resiliency in the face of challenges to community prosperity, national security, and changing climate.

You can help by:

Becoming a Member
Signing on as an Annual Sponsor

Continue your support throughout the year by using one or both of these online shopping sites that contribute to Resilient Virginia:

JOIN TODAY — IT’S OUR FUTURE!

• Resilient Virginia’s First Three Years
• Sea Level Rise Preparedness: An Intergovernmental Pilot Project as a Blueprint for Community Resiliency
• Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
• KidWind Challenges: The Best Program You’ve Probably Never Heard Of!
• Don’t Just Talk About Backup Power From Your Electric Car — Make It Happen!
• Resilient Events Calendar
• Your Membership Counts!

What’s New

Resilient Virginia’s First Three Years and a Look Ahead

Three years have gone by rapidly since Resilient Virginia set out on its mission to accelerate resiliency planning in communities across the Commonwealth. We had an opportunity to give an overview of Resilient Virginia’s accomplishments at our February 2nd Virginia Sustainable Future Meeting. We appreciate the time and ideas that our expert guests contributed. We especially appreciate that Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring and Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler participated in the event.

Priorities for the future highlighted at the meeting include:

1. The need for a state-level resiliency framework under which to organize state, regional, and local policy and programs;
2. The need for education and coalition building to foster the positive public will to support action on resiliency policies and programs;
3. Investigating innovative financing mechanisms for infrastructure adaptation strategies;
4. Establishing commonly accepted models for risk assessment and consistent standards for resiliency;
5. Creating a clear business case for resiliency actions;
6. Building an understanding of rural and urban interdependence;
7. Fostering an understanding of the role of clean energy and resilient building design in providing solutions;
8. Highlighting the role of healthy communities and attention to vulnerable populations as components of resilient communities.

Resilient Virginia will take these priorities into consideration as it creates its workplan for the next four years. We will explore expanded ways to assist communities in both urban and rural areas with understanding the need for resiliency planning and to help them access tools for adopting action plans.

You can assist Resilient Virginia in formulating and carrying out our third Resilient Virginia Conference and other new initiatives by becoming a member or sponsorand by joining our working committees. Contact Annette Osso, Managing Director, at osso@resilientvirginia.org.

Sea Level Rise Preparedness: An Intergovernmental Pilot Project as a Blueprint for Community Resiliency

Editor’s note: In 2014, a Hampton Roads initiative to learn more about and create solutions to sea level rise and flooding was initiated by public, private, and academic leaders in that community. We will share an overview of this initiative, along with the final report. In subsequent newsletters, we will focus attention on other parts of the state where community leaders are starting down the path toward resiliency. The author of this article, Rear Admiral Ann C. Phillips, US Navy (Retired), chaired the Infrastructure Working Group for the Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project from 2014–2016. See highlights of the article in this newsletter and the complete article here.

The Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Preparedness and Resilience Intergovernmental Pilot Project (IPP) (convened by Old Dominion University and launched in June 2014) was one of four National Security Council pilots and three Department of Defense pilots established to prepare the United States for the impacts of a changing climate.

Hampton Roads localities (including Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach), four Cabinet Departments of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, 11 Federal Agencies (including DOD, Army, Navy, Air Force), DHS (U.S. Coast Guard), DOT, DOE, Port of Virginia, VDOT, HRPDC, HRTPO, HRSD, and a variety of private businesses and non-profits worked together over two years to develop recommendations and strategies for cooperative resilience planning. Throughout the process, more than 200 regional professionals participated in voluntary working groups, committees, and stakeholder events.

Storm surge map courtesy of chesapeakeclimate.org

The IPP’s stated mission was that upon completion of the two-year effort, Hampton Roads would have a path to establish a regional Whole of Government and Whole of Community organizational framework, along with recommended procedures to effectively coordinate sea level rise preparedness and resilience planning for the region. Further, the IPP’s vision and the National Security Council’s objective included the development of this regional framework for Hampton Roads as a template that could be used for other regions.

Desired Outcomes: The Pilot Project identified five key desired outcomes to help Hampton Roads move forward in adapting to this challenge, shown here as synthesized from case studies and findings across the committees and working groups, and including lessons learned from South Florida, New Orleans, and the Netherlands. They are as follows:

• Develop and implement common Regional Planning Standards — including, but not limited to common first floor elevation/building codes/GIS attributes/sea level planning scenarios — to facilitate effective regional planning and execution of adaptation efforts.
• Establish support from a Consortium of Universities — ensure the best possible science, data, and engineering expertise from a non-partisan trusted agent.
• Establish a Regional Data Center — ensure an independent, centralized ability to collect, analyze, distribute, and respond to regional data needs.
• Ensure collaborative, prioritized planning and execution — create formalized relationships between Federal/State/Cities/Municipalities/Businesses/Non-profits and Citizens
• Identify funding strategies and create funding instruments for regional program needs — bring together and prioritize opportunities from multiple sources including federal, state, local government, private industry and non-profits.

Community members learn about sea level rise from Michelle Covi, Assistant Professor of Practice, Ocean, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University.

The Future: While there are actions and activities underway across the region at every level, the need for the regional collaboration and oversight entity identified by the IPP grows as water levels continue to rise and the land subsides. The IPP showed the tremendous value of regional partnerships working in collaboration across the whole of government and community. Now, it is up to Hampton Roads to seize this opportunity to take the lead in developing collaborative adaptation and mitigation strategies and actions to address to this existential threat — and we have no time to lose!

To view the entire IPP final report and case studies on line, visit ODU Digital Commons.

About the author: Rear Admiral Ann C. Phillips, US Navy (Retired) chaired the Infrastructure Working Group for the Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project from 2014-2016. She is now a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Climate and Security. The opinions expressed are her own.

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming

Paul Hawken, Executive Director of Project Drawdown and one of the fathers of the sustainability movement, presented an overview of a major new publication at the Champions of Change Sustainability Symposium, held January 8, 2018. The book, Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, is the product of work conducted with over two hundred scholars, students, scientists, researchers, and activists who analyzed extensive data gathered from around the world. They produced what they consider the one hundred most substantive solutions than can cumulatively reverse global warming by reducing and sequestering greenhouse gases.

By “doing the math” and focusing on technological, ecological, and behavioral solutions, the research team produced their results. Top categories of solutions include those associated with food (changing production methods, reducing food waste, switching to plant-rich diets), electricity generation (ramping up wind and solar production), and land (including proper land management and reforestation).

Thanks to GreenBuilder Media, the conference hosts, I am sharing both an article by CEO Sara Gutterman and Paul Hawken’s presentation here and on the Resilient Virginia YouTube channel.

Farm photo courtesy of regenerationinternational.org; renewable energy photo courtesy of Financial Tribune.

KidWind Challenge: The Best Program You’ve Probably Never Heard Of!

Kids from middle and high schools around Virginia will be showing off their knowledge about designing and building wind turbines again this year during March events that make up the 2018 KidWind Challenges. This program, hosted by the James Madison University Center for Wind Energy, has been an opportunity for children to “learn by doing” since 2012, and has involved over 1,300 students, coaches, judges, and volunteers and 170 schools.

The students are judged in three areas: 1) turbine performance, 2) turbine design quality and process, and 3) knowledge of the wind industry. The CWE hosts three regional qualifying KidWind Challenges:

• March 5 at the Science Museum of Western Virginia In Roanoke
• March 16 at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly
• March 23 at the Nauticus in Norfolk

The top three teams in each Middle and High School division from each regional Challenge will be invited to compete in the National KidWind Challenge in Chicago, IL at the American Wind Energy Association Windpower Conference in May 2018.
See what Virginia students think about wind energy on our Clean Energy video playlist.

Kids from middle and high schools around Virginia will be showing off their knowledge about designing and building wind turbines again this year during March events that make up the 2018 KidWind Challenges.

Don’t Just Talk About Backup Power From Your Electric Car — Make It Happen!

You may be considering how to make sure you have backup power in the event of some extreme weather, like 60 mile-per-hour winds that knock out power lines, as happened recently in the Commonwealth. A colleague, Charlie Behrens, whom I met at the Champions of Change Symposium, shared how he utilized the “big battery” in his driveway, i.e. his Nissan Leaf. He used some do-it-yourself expertise to successfully provide emergency power for his Orlando home during recent hurricane-induced power outages. Key ingredients, besides the car, were a 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter by Power Tech-On, a circuit breaker to prevent damage to the car’s system, and power cables.

Read the full account here.

— Annette Osso, Editor

Thanks to Our 2017–2018 Annual Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor

Community Leader Sponsor

Lifeboat Sponsors

Village Sponsors

Resilience Events Calendar

Add these special events co-hosted by Resilient Virginia to your calendar

March 19: City of Roanoke and the Envision Standard for Sustainable Infrastructure, 12:00 noon–1:00 pm, Cohosted with USGBC Virginia Community. Location: Co-Lab, 1327 Grandin Road SW, Roanoke, VA 24015. Register today for this special event here.

April 3: Your Home: Cool, Dry and Green, 6:00–8:00 pm, cohosted with Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220. This FREE workshop features Chris McCormick, Green Infrastructure Center; Jeremy Hoffman, SMV Climate Scientist; and Amy Hagerdon, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, with information on keeping your home cooler and dryer with green infrastructure. FREE to participants — you will take home a tree or shrub from TreeLab, a Richmond-based non-profit working to improve the urban environment. You must reserve your seat at this event here.

April 14: Arlington Home Show and Garden Expo, 10:00 am–4:00 pm, co-hosted with Arlington County Housing Division. Held at Kenmore Middle School, 200 South Carlin Springs Road, Arlington, VA 22204. Featuring businesses and county programs with information on home energy efficiency and solar systems, remodeling to age in place, sustainable landscape designs, managing stormwater, financing renovations, and preparing your home and family for extreme storms. Look for more information coming soon on special resiliency workshops.

Check our Resilient Events Calendar on a regular basis to find out what is happening in Virginia, around the nation, and virtually through webinars.

Membership — Always in Season!

Resilient Virginia is on a mission to

*Inform   *Educate   and   *Activate

Virginia communities to build resiliency in the face of challenges to community prosperity, national security, and changing climate.

You can help by:

Becoming a Member
Signing on as an Annual Sponsor

Continue your support throughout the year by using one or both of these online shopping sites that contribute to Resilient Virginia:

JOIN TODAY — IT’S OUR FUTURE!