Climate and Society alumni work together to build coastal resilience
Madeleine (“Maddy”) Traynor and Shangtong (“Sandy”) Li are graduating in 2022 from Columbia Climate Institute’s Master of Climate and Society program. Both are now researchers at the Urban Marine Laboratory.
this Climate and Society Master’s Program exist Columbia Climate School Known for taking a unique interdisciplinary approach to teaching the causes, effects and solutions of climate change. The program attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and prepares them for subsequent entry into similarly diverse fields.
Two alumni of the Class of 2022 now work at Urban Ocean Laboratory – a think tank focused on creating policy for coastal cities – provides a good example of what this looks like in practice. Madeleine (“Maddy”) Traynor started working in agriculture before coming to the Climate Institute and is now leading a major research project at the Urban Marine Laboratory, while Shangtong (“Sandy”) Li is using her background in the arts to spread the word about the organization research to policy makers and the general public.
In the interview below, they tell us more about what they do and how the diversity of their climate and society programs is one of their greatest strengths.
First, please tell us a little about your background before coming to Climate School.
sand: I studied sculpture at the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore. I make materials out of scrap because I care about the environment, but I really don’t know anything about the causes of climate change and how the earth system works. I really want to gain a deeper scientific understanding of our planet.
Maddie: My background is in land based regenerative agriculture. I have worked on rural and urban farms, as well as nonprofit communications and design in the environmental space. Before graduate school, and of course during the Climate and Society program, I started turning my attention to ocean-based climate solutions.A large part of this is my initial interest in Regenerative MaricultureIt has been fantastic to be able to focus my substantial fellowship research at Urban Marine Lab on seaweed and shellfish farming.
How did you get into Urban Ocean Lab?
Maddie: I joined in May 2022, two days after graduation. During the Climate Associates program, in addition to honing my writing and communication skills, I focused on coastal resilience and marine climate solutions. One of my favorite classes is Resilient Shorelines, with Kate Orff. She was one of the consultants for Urban Ocean Lab, so I was approached to work with Urban Ocean Lab, and I was really excited to have the opportunity to join.
sand: I joined the job at the end of January [2023], so I’m very very new to this. But I’ve worked with the Waterfront Alliance through the capstone of our project, so I have some experience with how climate change affects coastal cities, and that’s how I learned about Urban Ocean Lab and what it does. It’s a nice coincidence that we both land here.
Maddy and Sandy recently published a report on regenerative marine farming, with a particular focus on seaweed and shellfish farming.Source: Urban Ocean Lab
Can you talk about each of your roles at Urban Marine Lab?
Maddie: When I first started, I was very focused on communication and design. But for the better part of the past seven months, I’ve been very focused on writing research and policy for our regenerative marine farming memo and fact sheet.us issued a fact sheet Last December about regenerative marine farming – which we define as seaweed and/or shellfish farming without fresh water, feed or fertilizer – and our policy memo just came out early March. Work is really fun. Almost the entire team contributed to the process, but I’ve been leading the research and stakeholder outreach efforts. We conducted a comprehensive literature review and interviewed more than 65 individuals, ranging from marine farmers to policy makers, scientists, advocacy groups and more. I’ve honestly enjoyed the process, just talking to people and seeing what they’re doing in the field to get a better understanding of the challenges facing the US seaweed and shellfish farming industry as a whole and what can be used at the local, state and federal levels Potential Policy Leverage.
sand: I have been working with Maddy Regenerative Mariculture Policy Memorandum. I’ve been working on rolling out and ensuring that public facing materials are accessible. I also work with designers to present information in an understandable way for those who don’t have time to read a lot but can understand the material through simple graphics. I act as a sort of translator, conveying scientific and policy messages to people who don’t necessarily have those backgrounds but also want to know more.
Sandy, is there a particular graphic you’re excited to make?
sand: We created this chart to describe the very long and complex process that marine farmers must follow if they want to obtain permission to start regenerative marine farming. They must go through at least 11 different agencies, and the licensing process can take up to five years. So, in our diagrams, we have tried to convey all these numbers and obstacles and the long and tedious process at a glance.
An image Sandy and Maddy helped produce for this publication shows at a glance how difficult it is to obtain a mariculture license in California.Source: Urban Ocean Lab
How does the Climate and Society Program help you in your current role?
sand: Having a diverse group really helps. Our fellow students came from a variety of backgrounds – some of them were more science-focused, some more art-focused, like me and Maddy – and it was really cool to see the different kinds of skills each of us brought to the table. They inspire me a lot and the possibilities of collaboration are endless. Especially working at Urban Ocean Lab, I’m really lucky to have Maddy. It was great to work together.
Another important component of work that we have learned from the climate and society program is knowledge co-production.I was offered a graduate research assistantship with Professor Christopher Zappa at Lamont, whose research Emphasis on co-production with indigenous communities in Alaska. Our Policy Memorandum is also a large co-production project with farmers and different stakeholders in the mariculture industry. I think this process is very important, especially in climate change research, because climate change is happening to all of us, and we can’t just have one point of view. We need to get multiple perspectives from multiple people because we are all affected in different ways.
Do you have any advice for current or future climate and society students?
Maddie: Talk to as many people as possible, learn about the different opportunities, and find out what sparks that spark for you. Figuring out where your spark is can really help you hone your skills where you can contribute your skills in ways that are meaningful to you and benefit the climate movement.
Now that the Regenerative Mariculture Policy Memorandum has been released, what’s next for each of you?
Maddie: I’m working with some of my teammates on some case studies that look more closely at the local policy levers that could help overcome some of the barriers to a regenerative mariculture industry.We will be publishing that set of case studies over the next few months and will organise event end of March. Urban Ocean Lab is also developing a framework for a Blue New Deal for coastal cities.
sand: For the Blue New Deal, we’re doing a lot of research on what it means for coastal cities to be climate ready — what policies and practices can municipalities implement, and what benefits do communities have? Great care has been taken to ensure fairness is included in the process. We’re really trying to come up with best practices for a climate-resilient coastal city.
