About 40 citizens and town and agency officials interested in the effects of climate change on Barnstable participated in a concluding workshop of the two-year New England Climate Adaptation Project (NECAP) Wednesday at Town Hall. The organizations involved in the project expressed hope that this is only a beginning of getting more people to think about climate-related risks and climate preparedness for future risks such as flooding and coastal erosion on the area.
As part of the study, more than 140 participants from Barnstable and Cape Cod attended a mock decision-making process last fall. Also 100 Barnstable residents participated in two randomized public opinion polls on climate issues in 2013.
The town’s Growth Management Department partnered in the project with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Impact Collaborative, the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Consensus Building Institute with the help of climate scientists at the University of New Hampshire.