Learn about Collaborating on Resilience (CORE), where Pontchartrain Conservancy worked with the community of St. James Parish, Louisiana to create a comprehensive Coastal Resilience Plan for the parish. We facilitated collaboration between diverse local and regional stakeholders ranging from grassroots activists to local government. The solutions explored and initiated through this project highlight how nature-based coastal resilience can enhance environmental and human health.  
  
The CORE process is rooted in extensive community outreach. We provided resources, topical experts, virtual, in-person, and experiential learning opportunities and empowered residents to make decisions about the future of their community. We began with a Community Listening Session and installed five permanent Coastal Hubs in libraries, high schools, and the local hospital with varied coastal education resources. We then held five field trips to demonstrate coastal resilience projects across the state. Examples include a boat trip to plant cypress trees in Manchac, Louisiana and a tour of green infrastructure projects in New Orleans.  
  
CORE also included a semester-long collaboration between master's students at the LSU School of Landscape Architecture and the St. James Community to create urban designs for coastal resilience. This involved a resident-guided tour of the parish for students, monthly virtual check-ins with students and residents, and a field trip for high school Environmental Science classes to LSU. Residents gave feedback at every step of the design process, resulting in final designs grounded in local knowledge. The plans center flood resilience, human health, and community beautification.  
  
We conducted a Coastal Resilience Index (CRI) for the parish and used the results to inform topics for a series of ten charettes through which stakeholders contributed their priorities and preferences toward the final parish-wide resilience plan. We included government officials and local experts in every charrette, with a focus on integrating residents in decisions being made for their community.  
  
This CORE process culminates in a master plan for community-scale resilience. Pontchartrain Conservancy’s role in facilitating engagement and collaboration amongst community members, parish officials, academia, students, subject experts, and other stakeholders results in a Coastal Resilience Plan, created by the community, to help guide future projects for St. James.