FSU hosts workshop to build resilient Florida Gulf communities
Florida State University presents “Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge,” a free workshop to explore how to achieve adaptive resilience for the Florida Gulf’s coastal communities with the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge.
The event will take place from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, at the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response (RIDER) Center conference room, 1753 West Paul Dirac Dr.
The collaborative event brings together experts across FSU, including the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and its Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center, the College of Social Work, the Stoops Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, and Children and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center.
The event’s emergency management professionals panel includes representatives from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering faculty, FEMA, Florida A&M University Emergency Management and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
“We are hoping this event can be an inspiration and catalyst for extending our knowledge of community-scale resilience needs of the tribe and developing strategic adaptation and implementation plans to reduce their vulnerabilities against disasters.”
— Eren Erman Ozguven
Keynote speaker Daniel Wildcat, an accomplished author, speaker and scholar at the Haskell Indian Nations University and director of the American Indian studies program at Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, will share Indigenous knowledge related to the interconnectedness between the environment, communities and policy.
Attendees will receive a free lunch and a copy of Wildcat’s book, “Red Alert! Saving the Planet Through Indigenous Knowledge.”
“There is growing recognition that Indigenous perspectives should be front and center in climate change and natural disaster responses,” said Ellen Piekalkiewicz, director of the Stoops Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, and Children. “The release of the Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report by Indigenous groups’ decades-long activism is elevating Indigenous knowledge systems at the local, national and international levels.”
The event is part of a National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network award project focused on resilient rural infrastructure. It aims to foster a new understanding of complex interactions among key elements of community resilience in rural coastline areas to adapt to an ever-changing climate and potential natural disasters.
“Resilience is for everyone, and it is not one size fits all,” said Eren Erman Ozguven, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the RIDER Center at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “As part of this multidisciplinary NSF Research Coordination Network grant, we are hoping this event can be an inspiration and catalyst for extending our knowledge of community-scale resilience needs of the tribe and developing strategic adaptation and implementation plans to reduce their vulnerabilities against disasters.”
The event poses a unique opportunity for members of the public, researchers and professionals from across diverse professions to network and form work groups to address the need for interdisciplinary community-based collaboration to build the resilience and infrastructure of rural communities in the Florida panhandle.
The event is free and open to the public, though registration is recommended.
Local news media are encouraged to attend and cover the event. Reporters interested in attending are requested to RSVP at least 24 hours in advance via email to Ellen Piekalkiewicz at epiekalkiewicz@fsu.edu.