All Photos: Brian Yurasits, NH Sea Grant
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, more than 120 people gathered at the 2026 NH Coastal Climate Summit to learn, connect, and explore how communities can build resilience in the face of climate change. This year’s Summit, hosted by CAW, was the largest in-person event yet!
Keynote Speaker: Elizabeth Rush
To kick off the Summit, this year’s keynote was given by nonfiction author and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Elizabeth Rush, who spoke about her journey to Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica and how that changed her outlook for the future. She shared powerful visuals of a changing landscape and stories about the crew, research projects, and the tumultuous voyage. But what seemed to resonate most was her ability to connect deeply personal experiences to complex climate challenges as she wove in stories of becoming a mother and other personal relationships. Rather than focusing solely on science and data, Rush reminded attendees that climate change is also a human story – one about relationships, responsibility, uncertainty, and care. She may have transported attendees to one of the most remote places on Earth, but participants left thinking about something much closer to home.
Elizabeth Rush, nonfiction author and Pulitzer Prize finalist speaks at the 2026 NH Coastal Climate Summit
Elizabeth Rush signs books provided by Water Street Bookstore
Session 1 - Plenary
The following plenary featured projects that are much more local: new science and mapping for flooding in NH, how climate impacts housing on the coast, replacing grey infrastructure with green spaces to reduce flooding, and beach dune mapping as participatory science. These presentations further emphasized Rush’s message of collaboration and care, showcasing local partnerships and ways to engage newcomers to climate topics. Attendees described that they appreciated learning about initiatives across different sectors because it provided new perspectives and demonstrated a collective hope for climate adaptation.
L to R: Kirsten Howard, Jayne Knott, Alex Maxwell, and Kirk Bosma
Maeve Nolan
Suzannah Buzzell and Wells Costello give a beach profiling demonstration.
Tables and Artists
Between these presentations or during lunch, participants could visit one of the many tables or view displays from local artists that feature coastal themes.
Tables
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- Building Resilient Shorelines: Exploring Engineering Tradeoffs to Meet Shared Societal Goals – Peter Howd, UNH Marine Docents
- NH Healthy Climate
- NH Environmental Justice Assessment
- Water Street Bookstore
Art
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- Evolving Yields – Emily Cady
- Caring for Our Marshes – Taylor Rose, Taylor Rose Makes Art
- 2KR Buoy #3 – Pete Weissbrod, Brave Boat Studio
- 2025 Picturing Rising Tides Gallery – NH CAW
Session 2 - Concurrent Presentations
After lunch, participants joined smaller breakout groups to narrow in on a topic: Resilient Shorelines, Resilient Structures, or Resilient People. Resilient Shorelines included presentations about living shorelines, salt marsh ownership, and designing resilient green spaces. Resilient Structures highlighted climate resilient stream crossings, coastal pavement, and building resilience for historic structures. The third session, Resilient People featured a discussion about equitable relationship building and resource sharing and presentations about emergency preparedness and nature-based solutions.
Reslient Shorelines: Tom Ballestero, Rob Pruyne, Aidan Barry, Amy Bell Segal, Beth Kirmmse, Jennifer Martel (L to R)
2026 CAW Community Champion Award
After these sessions, CAW announced the 2026 CAW Community Champions, Tracy Degnan (Rockingham County Conservation District) and Brianna Hagan (Town of Hampton) for their work to support NH’s coastal communities.
Rayann Dionne and Tracy Degnan
“Tracy is a hands‑on leader who gets things done by fostering collaboration, building strong relationships, and encouraging shared learning at every stage of a project — whether that means restoring habitats, rerouting trails, securing funding, or sustaining volunteer engagement.”
Brianna Hagan and Jay Diener
“Brianna puts her technical knowledge, outreach and collaboration skills, and policy know-how to work by helping Hampton conserve its natural resources and become more resilient.”
Participant Pop Up
Before the last presentation of the day, CAW invited participants to share recent accomplishments, project updates, new ideas, upcoming opportunities, or pose an emerging question in a Participant Pop-Up Session. To see what members are up to, view the notes from this session.
Session 3 - Live Podcast Recording with Granite Goodness
Lastly, the day wrapped up with a live podcast recording from Granite Goodness, featuring local coastal climate visionaries. Host, Andy DeMeo, spoke with Annie Cox (Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership), Brianna Hagan (Town of Hampton), Maeve Nolan (Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast), and Corey Riley (Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) about what makes them hopeful for NH’s coastal communities. Check back to listen to their episode!
L to R: Andy DeMeo, Corey Riley, Brianna Hagan, Annie Cox, Maeve Nolan
Andy DeMeo and Corey Riley
L to R: Brianna Hagan, Annie Cox, and Maeve Nolan
Reflections and Thanks
Conversations around climate adaptation often leave people feeling overwhelmed. Yet many attendees described leaving the Summit feeling optimistic. One participant wrote simply, “Feeling hopeful again. Can’t thank you enough.” Another shared “I was pleased to feel a sense of accomplishment and success, which often takes time to experience but was very tangible at this conference.” And another appreciated seeing examples of important resilience work continuing, despite broader challenges and uncertainty.
As communities across coastal NH continue to prepare for a changing climate, participants left with a renewed sense that resilience is not something we build alone. It emerges through shared stories, shared purpose, and a willingness to face challenges together.
From CAW, we want to extend our appreciation and thanks to speakers, artists, organizers, sponsors and most of all, attendees! We greatly enjoyed learning from you and connecting with you all about your work and efforts in New Hampshire.