Keeping History Above Water: West was a pre-conference workshop hosted by the California Preservation Foundation in partnership with the Newport Restoration Foundation as part of CPF’s annual conference, Deep Roots in Dynamic Times. This was the third national KHAW event, following the inaugural forum in Newport, RI in 2016 and the second convening in Annapolis, MD in 2017.
How can communities identify, prioritize, and adapt historic places to threats posed by climate change and natural disasters? This day-long workshop covered climate change adaptation concepts and projects specific to cultural resources. Showcasing local, regional, and nationwide case studies, participants became equipped with tools to integrate into their own practices. Topics included cultural resource vulnerability assessments, FEMA policies and Local Hazard Mitigation Plans, design solutions, inventorying, risk communication, and existing institutional and policy barriers. Small group discussions also fostered a greater collective understanding of existing historic resource resiliency challenges.