Investigators: Lindsay Naylor

As the impacts of climate change continue to influence Delaware’s coast and population, adaptation and mitigation strategies must address multiple and possibly compounding risks. Strategies for adaptation and minimizing risk are already underway as Delaware environmental agencies create sites of community engagement and assess stakeholder needs.

However, stakeholder assessment and inclusion is uneven across programming related to climate change in the state. In this project, led by PI Dr. Lindsay Naylor (Geography & Spatial Sciences, CEOE, UD) titled: “Inclusive Climate Change Adaptation: knowledge exchange with the Lenni-Lenape Tribe of Delaware,” the proposed topic-focused project aims to diversify and increase environmental literacy and promote inclusive climate change adaptation.

This research will examine the impact of climate change as well as past, present and future understandings of climate change and adaptation among the Lenni-Lenape Tribe of Delaware. Using qualitative methods, including surveys, interviews, observation, focus groups and workshops this research will engage the Lenni-Lenape Tribe, Tribal youth as citizen scientists and form a diverse research team to ask questions about how the Tribe responds to climate change and adaptation measures, what strategies are appropriate for addressing climate change that serve a diverse group of stakeholders and what new ways can we add to our knowledge of climate change by engaging youth as researchers.

Ultimately, this project will have a long-term impact via bridge building between UD, environmental agencies, and underserved communities in Delaware.