Making Waves: Sea Level Rise Engagement in the City of Westport

Abstract

Westport is a town of approximately 2,000 people on the Washington coast. As a low-lying coastal community, Westport is both reliant on the sea for its fishing and tourism industries, and vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise. However, recent climate resilience surveys indicate that sea level rise is not a salient issue for Westport residents. This project sought to engage with diverse stakeholders in the Westport community to identify outreach methods that maximize public knowledge and participation around sea level rise. Reviews of the literature on community engagement, climate and science communication, and Westport-specific climate projections, together with a Westport-specific stakeholder analysis, served as the backbone for the creation of a Westport stakeholder planning team. This planning team informed and guided the development of sea level rise educational materials. In addition to this report, the project had four main deliverables to Westport, as described in the report: formation of the stakeholder planning team, development of a community engagement toolkit, production of sea level rise educational materials, and public presentation of the developed materials, feedback from which informed the further refinement of the materials. The report concludes with a discussion of these materials and deliverables, lessons learned, and recommendations to the City of Westport for how to continue to engage the community around sea level rise.