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The TransCoastal Adaptations Centre for Nature-Based Solutions at Saint Mary’s University is organizing the 2026 Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Resilience Conference in association with the Atlantic Regional Chapter of the Coastal Zone Canada Nature Based Coastal Solutions Community of Practice.

This five-day workshop (including 2 field trip days) provides a space for reflection, collaboration, and growth. It focuses on the principles and techniques for nature-based adaptation. Our goal is to increase local knowledge exchange on nature-based adaptation and to empower more groups to undertake such activities. Through open dialogue, we aim to advance the implementation of nature-based and restoration projects across Canada and North America. The multi-day conference will welcome 120 researchers, policymakers, scientists, engineers, designers, students, community groups, and other experts from across the region.

This year's theme is Reimagining Nature-Based Solutions in coastal systems. When we talk about reimagining Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), we mean looking beyond “business as usual.” Reimagining asks us to rethink how, where, and why we use nature to address coastal climate risks. It encourages new ideas, lessons learned from real-world projects, and fresh ways of working across disciplines, communities, and knowledge systems.

Reimagining NbS can mean improving how projects are designed, built, monitored, or funded; learning from successes and failures; strengthening partnerships with communities and Indigenous knowledge-holders; or preparing coastal systems for future conditions like sea-level rise and stronger storms. It is about adapting our approaches as conditions change, and ensuring that nature-based solutions are effective, equitable, and resilient over the long term.

At this conference, we are working towards the application, implementation, and delivery of nature-based adaptations to climate change, and sharing the latest research in coastal and estuarine science! Hope to see you there!