ReMain Nantucket and Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge Open Second Survey to Measure Changes in Attitudes on Climate

Easy Street, Nantucket during a winter flooding event (Photo Courtesy Bill Hoenk)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 18, 2022

CONTACT: 
Claire Martin 
cmartin@remainnantucket.org
508-901-4149

ReMain Nantucket and Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge Open Second Survey to Measure Changes in Attitudes on Climate 

NANTUCKET, Mass.---Nantucket residents and visitors have until Feb. 1 to weigh in on environmental issues like climate change and sea level rise in the second climate survey commissioned by ReMain Nantucket and the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge. The 10-minute online survey opens today and is available in English and Spanish.

Results from the baseline January 2021 survey indicated that Nantucket community members are not only well aware about the impacts of climate change, but also prepared to take action. In fact, the survey found that Nantucketers are far more likely to be alarmed about climate change than the national average, 73% compared to the 26% reported in the April 2020 Yale Program on Climate Change Communication SASSY Survey (though as of September 2021, the national average had increased to 33%).

ReMain Nantucket now aims to measure whether those figures have changed over the past year. The survey also includes questions to assess preparedness and willingness to adapt for sea level rise and to adopt energy practices that prevent the harmful effects of climate change.

The first survey was conducted in January 2021 as a baseline study of community attitudes about sea level rise and other climate change issues. Since then, the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge called on teams of university students to present to the community creative designs for living with rising water levels. In addition, community engagement efforts around the Challenge included a  Speaker Series, a public presentation of the design studio work, a six-month Envision Resilience: Designs for Living with Rising Seas exhibition which brought in over 2,500 visitors, a  "Climate, Coffee, and Conversation" roundtable series and a four-day "Rising Above" art installation along Easy Street.

“Our community engagement efforts have built on the momentum that has been cultivated around coastal resilience on Nantucket,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of ReMain Nantucket. “ Over the last few years, our community has emerged as a leader in planning and preparedness, and the island was ripe with opportunities for learning about climate and coastal resilience in 2021. Whether it was educational opportunities hosted by our island nonprofits, grassroots movements led by our island youth or efforts of the Town of Nantucket’s Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee, there was no shortage of resources for those willing to consider how we have to adapt.”

Last fall, there were a number of local events designed to raise awareness of and engage the public in climate issues. Those activities included the multi-partner collaboration spearheaded by the Artists Association of Nantucket to bring climate awareness through youth art, the release of the highly anticipated final draft of the Town of Nantucket’s Coastal Resilience Plan and a climate-change walkout of more than 200 Nantucket High School students led by the Youth Climate Committee. The community also had routine environmental reminders with regular flooding of Easy Street and the ongoing erosion along the South Shore and Sconset Bluff.

ReMain Nantucket is encouraging year-round, seasonal and visiting community members to take the survey, which will remain open until Feb. 1, 2022. Survey respondents will be entered into a drawing for one of five $50 gift cards to a local coffee shop.

Responses to the survey, conducted by the Boston-based consulting firm EBP, will be aggregated, and names will be kept confidential. The project team will release preliminary summarized findings of the study in March. To participate in the survey, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EnvisionResilience-II-1. Learn more at www.envisionresilience.org.

ReMain Nantucket and ReMain Ventures are funded by Wendy Schmidt and her husband Eric to support the economic, social and environmental vitality of the island of Nantucket. In addition to ReMain Nantucket providing grants and sponsorships to support sustainable and cultural initiatives across the island, ReMain Nantucket has worked in conjunction with ReMain Ventures to revitalize the downtown district year-round through the preservation of historic buildings that are home to a mix of nonprofit and commercial businesses.

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