Hello and welcome to "Your South Florida".

I'm# Pam Giganti.

Today we are coming to you from Miami-Dade's Underline, the 10mile linear# park that lies underneath the metro rail.

We're in an area called the River Room in# Brickell, a space designed with climate resilience in mind and an area that continues to grow as you# can hear.

This area was once underutilized land, but now is helping manage storm water# and reduce flooding through smart design, including raised elevations and native landscaping# to combat sea level rise from the Miami River.

And with hurricane season now underway and# climate impacts such as king tides and flooding affecting our region all year long, these kinds of# innovative solutions are more important than ever.

On today's program, we are taking a closer look# at how weather experts, designers, and community leaders are helping us to adapt to a changing# climate by building a stronger, safer future.

We begin at Florida Atlantic University Center# for Environmental Studies where scientists, educators, and architects are combining nature# and innovative design to create spaces that don't just withstand our changing environment,# but help communities thrive in it.

In South Florida, there is a tremendous consensus,# consistency of opinion about this climate change question is real, it's human caused, and we# need to do something about it.

Of course, then you're gonna have disagreements on more# specific questions of how and when and who pays, for example, but that that's to be expected.

The# Center for Environmental Studies or CES at Florida Atlantic University is a standalone research,# education, and community engagement unit.

It involves people at the university who# are interested in research, teaching, or community engagement on any environmental topic of# relevance to South Florida.

What we do is try and raise awareness as well as ask questions.

In these# conversations now I've been having with folks from all walks of society here for 11 years, there is# a sense of great urgency.

We know, for example, that a bridge has a normal life span before# it needs to be repaired or replaced.

The same with buildings.

And when those windows come up,# you really want to take advantage of redesigning them to the future risk conditions that we# believe we'll be facing.

Climate resilience is largely a function of what we call adaptive# capacity.

So the ability to anticipate, do things in anticipation of climate impacts or in response# following climate impacts.

So what that looks like here is a remarkable effort in Broward County, in# particular, but also in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach and Monroe counties to characterize flood risk,# which is something that people in South Florida have always had to deal with.

We're very low lying# and flat, but the flood risk is increasing.

It's not easy to quantify it, so there's been# tremendous work on science and policy to quantify flood risk.

Also on the heat question.

So# in which groups of people do we see more exposed to heat today than in recent years?

And also,# which groups and locations do we expect to be more exposed yet further in the coming decades?

The Robert J. Huckshorn Arboretum is a one-acre manmade urban forest where members# of the FAU community and the larger community can enjoy nature and learn# more about Florida's native plants.

The Arboretum demonstrates how we use nature to# manage the effects of climate change.

In a storm, like a bad hurricane, a native tree is gonna fare# better than an exotic tree.

And of course, trees provide shade, so they keep us cool, but they# also are gonna help with our home energy bills.

And the arboretum is just a great example to show# Floridians how they can do that.

Native plants grow incredibly fast.

If you look at the aerials# online, you can see that just over 10 years, the arboretum grew to have a huge canopy with# tons of shade.

We started the development about 20 years ago, back in 2005.

The idea behind it# was to replicate some of our Florida ecosystems.

We have an addition to the butterfly garden.# There's a tropical hardwood hammock, a mixed hardwood swamp, pine flatwoods, and a cabbage palm# oak hammock.

And all of those ecosystems, because they're native, are meant to attract wildlife and# support biodiversity.

As we start developing and you know, adding more concrete and losing natural# areas, the species biodiversity is gonna be lost.

So by us creating native areas with native# plants, we can create some greenways and they're called wildlife corridors where# animals can move from place to place.

We're also talking about birds and butterflies.# So the more people that are planning native, the better off these species are gonna be.

Climate ready is not just about the building and it's not just about lot, but it's also about# how do we look at community design?

And when we are looking at community design, unplanning# would allow us to take away some of the, maybe the overbuilt environments, making more room for# water, more room for nature-based features.

It's all about the flooding, it's about the# salt water, it's about sea level rise, but we have so many other challenges.

We have# hurricanes, wind, we also have challenges around future heat and even current heat that we see.

And# so this is a really unique environment, but it's also our only subtropical slash tropical region# in the continental United States that I think we have a purpose in a way that we can thrive in# this landscape, but it's also a place that we can reimagine these challenges and how do we learn# to live with them.

I grew up here in South Florida through a little wind event called Hurricane# Andrew back in 1992.

It destroyed my childhood home in Homestead, Florida actually.

And it's what# got me interested in architecture.

It got me to really think about how do we begin to position# ourselves around resiliency efforts and how we begin to address that in a built environment.

The interdisciplinary nature of the climate change problem is perhaps more pronounced# than in any other field I'm aware of.

Architecture is typically viewed as a structure# design challenge, but the configuration of the plants and the soil and other features are more of# a landscape architecture domain and questions.

If you're talking about reducing flood risk, you# really have to have both.

And Jeff is at the forefront of bringing those two together.

We were introduced to what was happening through the Climate Compact, the Southeast# Florida Regional Climate Change Compact.

And that four county compact was going through a# resilient redesign.

Everybody was at this table to really engage in three different case studies# around our region for what we could do and begin to solve for sea level rise, climate change# related issues.

If future sea level rise is gonna become such a challenge for our communities,# we don't need to look at it as an environmental liability.

We can flip it around as an asset.

And# how do we begin to think about how we live on, with, and over water?

How do we look at green# infrastructure?

How do we look at landscape architecture, architecture planning, all of these# different design aspects and how to begin to weave them together in an integrated way that began to# solve for it.

The city is taking an effort along the whole beach A1A area from Las Olas up to about# the BHotel.

They're calling this and branding it The Loop.

It even goes down to North Beach Village# where we were first incubating these ideas about salty urbanism.

They're looking at investments in# the streetscape, they're looking at investments of the public spaces.

And so DC Alexander Park# and Oceanside Park are probably the two parks most people know.

DC Alexander Park, one of the# things that when the city of Fort Lauderdale came to our team to look at was they asked for three# things.

They asked for one, an Instagram moment, two, they wanted a playground, and then third was# a resilient design that could go ahead and be a showcase and a model for how do we think about# climate readiness in the future.

I kind of said, "I think we need to turn the third one to the# first one", and you know, kind of moving things around because what was interesting is we just had# Hurricane Irma.

Hurricane Irma had just put about two feet of the sand that we just renourished the# beach onto beach A1A.

They spent about $8 million to do that of the taxpayer's money.

It all had to# be going ahead and brought to a landfill because it picked up everything from the streets and# the urban areas.

And so one of the things that we wanted to do there was how could we rewild the# landscape, bringing back nature, specifically the coastal uplands, and the root dunes, because they# need vegetation to hold the sand in place and the sand being in place is what actually would've# protected beach A1A during Hurricane Irma.

When you go into the park, you see these kind of# mounded landscapes in this kind of urban plaza.

We started to integrate what's called the coastal# strand, which is the line of vegetation right behind that.

And that's where you kind of see# the palm trees.

And then behind that's another thing called the maritime hardwood hammock.

And so# that's where we're integrating sea grapes, green buttonwoods.

We're integrating other trees in# landscapes like the Gumbo Limbo and elements that you would've seen naturally.

Nobody should notice# that it's climate-ready.

When you should notice is when we're having, you know, problems like storm# surge, hurricanes, or even when the power's out afterwards.

Climateready design doesn't have to# look different.

You know, I always say, you know, every project we design is sustainable, but at# the end of the day, it's still beautiful.

The county now is putting out a proposal for 20,# $30 billion worth of repairs to our flood control system and other flood risk reduction projects.# That's a major ask, but it is a very sophisticated plan and it's the type of thing that wouldn't have# happened if there hadn't been lots of concerted conversations over the years, every month, every# other month and so on in the last decade.

In essence, the way we've designed our# infrastructure in the past is for a climate that no longer exists.

Our climate in the future# is gonna change.

We're gonna have more intense storms.

There're gonna be less frequent, but# there's gonna be more water, there's gonna be more heat, there's gonna be more extreme drought.# It's not about resisting, it's not about fighting.

I think that is a losing battle.

I think it's how# do we learn how to live and manage these extreme cases, these what could be catastrophe if we don't# design for 'em.

And that timeframe of 50 years out is a great timeframe 'cause that's when we design# most infrastructure to have a lifespan for 50 years.

If we start thinking in those terms and we# start to manage and understand where we're gonna be at at those dates, we can start to find ways in# which we can not only survive here but thrive.

This topic is not pleasant.

It's fascinating,# but it's a little scary, especially if you're a property owner.

Sometimes the conversations around# sea level rise and flood risk lead to the image, explicit sometimes or implicit, of three feet# of water in the streets all the time.

That's not gonna happen anytime soon.

What I say instead# is that we're gonna have some neighborhoods that have enough water in the streets, enough hours per# day that they become more and more unlivable.

It's actually quite risky.

Three inches.

Is that# a big deal?

Well, it is if you have a walker, right?

Or other situations you can imagine.

The smartest thing that we can do is we have to trust the science.

We have to work with# engineers.

We have to understand and listen to the folks that are giving us the information,# the data sets for how we begin to design for.

Because what's the worst thing that can happen# is that we've overdesigned for the challenge.

Preparing for stronger storms isn't just# about infrastructure.

It's about making sure everyone has a safe place to weather# the next hurricane or flood.

But for many the cost of home repairs and storm preparation# puts safety out of reach.

That's where Broward Cares comes in.

A multiagency collaborative# effort led by Broward-based nonprofits working to help families get ready and recover.

Broward Cares is a fantastic collaboration of the United Way, the Community Foundation of# Broward, and the Jewish Federation of Broward County.

It's a partnership like no other in the# country where when a disaster strikes, we jump into action and we do everything that we can to# raise money jointly and to grant it out jointly as a team to make sure that this community gets up# and running as soon as possible after a disaster.

More than 20 years ago, the three organizations# came together and said, "You know, why are we all fundraising differently during a disaster?

Why are# we all going in different directions when the goal is singular?

Do what's best for this community# and get this community through this."

And when we put the pieces together and said,# "Let's work together", magic happened.

We know the more we work together, the better that# everybody's going to do.

The better our economy does, the better that all the organizations and# businesses, we bring in business leaders to show them that you are part of this collaboration# with us.

It is such a trust partnership that we each know that we're gonna lend our expertise# to disaster preparedness and to our community.

And I think it just works really well.

We've# been doing it for a long time.

Unfortunately, Broward has had its share of disasters.

We vet the organizations that get the money.

A lot of them we have preexisting relationships,# trusted relationships with, so we know they can do the work.

We know that they're fully capable# of getting out there, boots on the ground, and doing what needs to be done.

Rebuilding Together's mission is to create and sustain safe and healthy homes and# communities.

So our primary focus is always about fixing people's homes for seniors,# people with disabilities, people impacted by disasters.

So we go in and we provide health# and safety improvements so that they can have a safe home.

And then we help communities to# revitalize, or in scenarios like Broward Cares, to help people that have been impacted by# disasters.

You name the disaster, we can help.

We are the long-term recovery partner in the Broward# Cares group of nonprofits that they partner with to provide the physical repairs on the homes that# are impacted.

On the date of April 12th in 2023, all throughout Broward County, but particularly# the city of Fort Lauderdale, the rain just didn't stop.

It rained for hours and hours and hours.# As soon as the flood was over and people could begin help, that's where Broward Cares calls# their partners and begins.

Who needs help?

There was no preparedness for this.

It just# started to rain and didn't stop.

And next thing you know, people's homes were being flooded and# people were out of housing, et cetera.

So while that was happening, the three CEOs just got on the# phone quick and like, this is an emergency.

And donors came to the table.

They responded the night# of, the day of, we were able to, the next day, put out resources, get food, get lodging, help# with repairs.

We funded 211 to answer some of these emergency calls to make sure that they knew# what we were doing so they could connect people that were looking for assistance directly to# Broward Cares, directly to United Way and to the other organizations that were ready to serve.

When you give to Broward Cares, 100% of that is used for disaster preparedness.

It's used to help# people recover, to help people in a disaster.

And it's to uplift our community, you know, before,# during, and after a disaster happens 'cause what happens when a disaster occurs?

Media comes in, it# becomes a big story and everybody is all focused on it 100%.

But what happens as soon as that storm# is over, you know, we care about it locally.

The rest of the country has moved on to something# else.

Well, who's paying attention?

Well, Broward Cares is paying attention and is here for# the long haul and is here to make sure that the community gets back on its feet when everybody# else has turned their attention elsewhere.

There is a lot of unmet needs.

There are a# lot of folks and families and organizations that struggle.

Broward Cares wants to be able# to be responsive to those gaps in service.

We wanna try to prepare people ahead of time for# emergencies.

We wanna fund some organizations so that they're ready to respond to their clients# that they serve.

In a disaster, people need water, they need electricity, they need food, they need# financial assistance, they need clothing.

If you're talking about children, there's diapers and# there's just so many essential needs that happen.

It's the folks that live on the fringes that# always get the most affected, right?

The people that don't have a savings account, they don't have# an emergency plan.

They are one paycheck away from spiraling, you know, into poverty.

So those are# the folks that we wanna be able to support.

My house is flooded.

Where am I gonna# live?

I don't have a car anymore.

You know, I can't get to work.

My work is flooded.

You# know, the roof has been blown off my house.

You just have to understand where the community# is and where people's heads are and help them, you know, with what they need right now.

Because# if they don't have the basics taken care of, none of the other stuff matters.

I'm always blown away about the generosity of our community.

When a disaster happens, or even# if it's happening, if there's a hurricane and we know it's coming, so many businesses reach out and# they're like, "We're ready.

You tell us what you need, how you need it, and we're ready to go."

The great thing about Broward Cares is it's not a onetime event.

It is an ongoing# partnership where they meet with all of the different nonprofit charities that# provide different services.

When Irma hit, Broward Cares is already has relationships# with organizations that are gonna provide the case management 'cause these people need to# reach out to someone.

They work with the state, Broward County Emergency Management, not just when# a disaster happens, but every hurricane season, we begin the process of meeting and making sure# that the pieces and the relationships are still in place so that if a disaster incurs, we're ready# and prepared to make an impact immediately.

Broward cares.

We care.

And this is a community# we love.

We live here, we've raised our families here.

You know, this community is us.

You know,# we're part of this community too.

And you know, this is just us helping our neighbors.

Educating the next generation is also critical to creating a resilient future.

At the Museum# of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale, educators and scientists are helping young# people understand climate change and showing them how they can be part of the solution.

The Museum of Discovery and Science has been a really key part of Fort Lauderdale since# we opened in 1977 as the Discovery Center.

In our vision here at the museum, we really see# science as being, and an understanding of science, truly being part of making the community a better# place.

We connect people to inspiring science and we do that each and every day through early# childhood education, physical science, health and wellness, and environmental sustainability.# I've been at the museum seven and a half years and it was actually a question that came up in my# interview and the search committee were asking, you know, what would you do around environmental# sustainability?

Which was a great question because one of my questions is why isn't the museum# doing more around environmental sustainability?

We've got a board, we've got a staff who# are really passionate and focused on it, but it's really building on all of the great work# that's already happening in South Florida.

Climate change presents a number of challenges# for the Broward community.

We are a coastal community.

We're flat, we're low lying.

One of the# principle and early concerns was coastal flooding associated with sea level rise.

We have complex# water management systems and they all need to be rethought when we think about rising sea level# and rising groundwater table.

But we also have an increase in extreme rainfall events that# challenge our water management systems in ways that we maybe wouldn't predict for another, you# know, 50, 70 years.

And we're seeing that happen now.

And more recently, I think we're all talking# more about extreme heat and what that means for our communities, for our workers, for vulnerable# populations, and in Broward County, we're working to address those things.

We've had conversations# with the Museum of Discovery and Science for, I wanna thank almost a decade.

There's just# really no other entity that's so well positioned to serve as that centerpiece, that source for the# community.

They're recognized to cater to families and school children and serve as an educational# center that supports generations of learning.

Being in South Florida, being at, you know, one of# the many forefronts of climate change that we have around the world right now, we're seeing sea level# rise, we're seeing the impacts of king tides, we're seeing the increasing heat in the summer.# This is something we need to address.

We went all in on this in partnership with the Community# Foundation of Broward to create our hub for resilience education.

Really creating a place# where we can bring together thought leaders, we can bring together nonprofit and corporate# partners to really be part of the solution.

Right now on the floor we have opportunities where# we're asking visitors, children, and families to come up using Lego bricks to solutions to building# a better sea wall, to creating a habitat for sea turtles, to protecting the Everglades.

You hear# this amazing dialogue about habitat protection, about fragmentation of land.

They may not# be using those words, but they're getting the point and they're realizing that# they could be part of the solution.

It's about inspiring young people and their# ability to be communicators as well for a broader community because it isn't adequate# to have one-off conversations.

We all need to feel like we have agency and we have the# ability to communicate with confidence about why this in issue is important, why it can't be# delayed, and why we need organized action.

Our Eco Explorers Internship is a paid internship# program for high school aged individuals between 10th and 12th grades in local Broward County# schools surrounding the nearby area of the museum where we're looking for individuals who# are wanting to dip their toes a little bit more into environmental studies, environmental# sustainability, maybe even a little bit of urban planning.

It gives them an opportunity to not# only work on their workforce development skills, their soft skills that a lot of employers# are looking for nowadays in the growing climate.

It takes them into opportunities# where they get to immerse themselves into the natural landscape.

We go out to the Everglades# quite frequently, but then they also get to hear from some professionals throughout a whole bunch# of different areas that might touch environmental studies in ways that we don't think so.

In our excursions, we do a lot of stuff like planting mangrove trees.

We've done that twice and# we tested the waters to, like, see the salinity and check the nitrogen levels.

We also done fun# things like kayaking and like, just walking around and exploring the Everglades and we went air# boating, a lot of fun stuff.

Before I started this internship, I was very afraid of climate# change.

Whenever people, like, talked about it or I learned about it, a lot of people talked about# the catastrophes and the damage it's causing and will cause in the future and how it's only gonna# get worse.

But my experience in this internship has actually taught me about the ways that people# are actually making stuff better and how I can, like, I can do my small part to help and I can try# to encourage our officials to do things to help.

So it gives me a sense of power and control to be# able to see that I have power to change and help my future and the future of everybody else.

When you think about the hope for the future, it's those Eco Explorers who are just so# passionate.

We have them out on the museum floor, we train them, and then they're interpreting# to the public.

We worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to create a new initiative that the# interns came up with.

They speak to the visitors, they're working with kids, but they're testing# out, you know, how can we adapt cities to make them more resilient?

What happens in a flood?# What happens with, you know, energy shortages?

I think the museum does a really good job at,# like, introducing us to all these topics.

When we see them in real life, we're not really# surprised.

They allowed me to be the keynote speaker at the Broward County Youth Climate Summit# last year, which was a whole bunch of high schools came to it.

And me and one of our other interns# spoke about climate change and the flooding and everything.

And then this year, I was able to# be the host for the event again.

We can't take action unless we know what we're talking about.# All these other students who've been coming to these things who are in the internship, they# actually learn what's gonna happen in the future and they get to make these little changes that# will make a really big difference later on.

I see that there is this growing call amongst# a lot of these younger individuals to want to be here, to want to be involved.

The# questions they ask when they're here, when they're learning about this new material,# the different perspectives they bring from all of their different backgrounds that we pull from, it# shows that there is a want, a desire, and a need for them to want to be involved.

And I'm glad# that the museum is actually being able to allow that outlet for them to get experience in this# field to hopefully become future change makers.

We are investing heavily in preparing# our community and I think, you know, that starts with things like critical thinking# skills.

You know, that starts with things like confidence, cooperation, caring.

You know,# as we develop our programs, whether it's, you know, new IMAX documentary curricula that# we're developing, new STEM mobile outreach, this is truly ingrained with who we are.

And# when we speak to young people in schools, these kids are passionate.

They are ready, they# wanna make a difference.

They recognize, you know, the communities they live in that may not have# the tree cover.

They see that.

And I think for us, being part of the solution is the way forward.

I'm Pam Giganti.

As always, thanks for watching.