I'm meteorologist Tony Nargi, and I recently toured the Ryan Resilience Lab, a global model for coastal resilience against climate change that offers practical solutions for homeowners facing rising seas and extreme weather.
The Ryan Resilience Lab is owned by the Elizabeth River Project and showcases a variety of ways to live more efficiently while protecting against climate impacts.
"So when we're able to reduce our energy use, that is a climate change solution, and it saves you money, so it's a win win," said a lab representative.
The lab demonstrates practical solutions to the effects of climate change, including an elevated structure designed to avoid damage from flooding — an impact that happens regularly now in coastal Virginia.
The facility features a living wall and a partial green roof that shade the building, reducing cooling costs throughout the year. Solar panels cover the other half of the roof, providing the building with almost all of its energy needs.
Beyond energy efficiency, the lab has made significant strides in coastal resilience that homeowners can replicate.
"It is actually required to put in a living shoreline now, which is really just a marsh. You're putting the marsh back, which filters the water. So that is a practical thing that people are constantly having to manage that water land line if they have waterfront property. But for everyone out there who doesn't own waterfront property, there's rain barrels, there's conservation landscaping, there's rain gardens," the representative said.
Living shorelines serve as a natural way to protect waterfront property, with marshes acting as a sponge for tidal floodwater unlike traditional bulkheads that can fail during storms.
Conservation landscaping and rain gardens are easy additions to front or backyards that provide urban habitats for indigenous wildlife while managing storm water runoff.
Residents can see all these examples and more on free tours of the Ryan Resilience Center in Norfolk, which are offered about once a week.
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