Freshwater Future Presents at the National Adaptation Forum

After a two-year in-person hiatus, the National Adaptation Forum returned to Baltimore, Maryland to celebrate the biannual event. The forum was established as a way to gather the adaptation communities and advocates from throughout the country to exchange ideas, support efforts, as well as invigorate and innovate ideas to support a more sustainable environment. The forum is an excellent platform to share how individuals, communities, and governmental collaboration develop stronger networks to be more climate savvy. 

Freshwater Future’s Ann Baughman and Kwamé Hampton presented findings from community-based organizations who are using the Flood Focus App. Freshwater Future’s Flood Focus App provides a way for residents to document flooding in a data gathering phase, followed by data visualization and advocacy. The data collected is used to promote community-driven solutions.

The first half of the presentation focused on how flooding affects Detroit and its Metropolitan communities, as well as how community organizations are using technology to capture data to help find solutions. Between August 2014, and July 2021, Metro-Detroit experienced two 500-year flood events, along with high water levels in the Great Lake during the summer of 2019. Audio testimonies from Tammy Black, President of Manistique Community Treehouse Center, and Cassandra Floyd, Executive Director of West Grand Boulevard Collaborative, provided a vivid description of the challenges experienced during these historic flood events. Their testimonies also provided hope for combating threats of flooding by implementing green stormwater infrastructure projects within their neighborhoods.